The Daily Fuckup: December 8, 2021

Edition · December 8, 2021

The Daily Fuckup: December 8, 2021

Trump’s Jan. 6 hangover kept producing fresh liabilities, and one of his closest former aides just turned into a contempt problem in real time.

On December 8, 2021, the Trump universe kept tripping over the same giant rake: the January 6 investigation. Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, skipped a scheduled deposition before the House select committee, pushing the panel toward contempt proceedings and spotlighting new documents tying Trump’s orbit to alternate-elector and January 6 planning. The day also underscored how far Trump’s post-election operation had drifted from plausible deniability and into the kind of paper trail that keeps lawyers awake at night.

Closing take

The broader story here is not one headline or one subpoena. It is the accumulated mess: the more Trump’s allies try to avoid the record, the more the record seems to harden against them. December 8 was another reminder that the election-overturning era was not over just because the calendar had moved on.

Ranked by how bad the fuckup was

5 stars means maximum fallout. 1 star means a smaller self-own.

Story

Meadows Ducks Jan. 6 Deposition and Hands the Committee a Bigger Fight

Contempt fallout Confidence 5/5

★★★★☆Fuckup rating 4/5 Serious fuckup

Mark Meadows blew off a scheduled deposition before the House January 6 committee, and that refusal immediately moved the panel toward contempt proceedings. The committee was already sitting on documents Meadows had turned over, including material referencing alternate electors and a PowerPoint on election fraud and January 6 options. The result was a fresh embarrassment for Trump’s former chief of staff and another sign that the White House’s post-election crew had no appetite for sunlight.

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