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We see Mas Amedda help orchestrate the conversation to persuade Jar Jar to vote emergency powers to Palpatine, indicating he was at least in league with Palpatine. However, this doesn't prove that Mas Amedda knows Palpatine is a Sith. While it appears he was working with the Chancellor and probably doing his bidding, you would think that his allegiance (as Vice Chair) would be to democracy rather than a dictatorship.

So, was Mas Amedda in league with Palpatine or just a willing participant for his own gain? Or was it deeper and Mas Amedda knew that Palpatine was a Sith Lord?

HorusKol
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Iceman
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    This is a good question +1. I checked the canon novel Tarkin because Amedda is in it, but I can't find anything conclusive in it or elsewhere. My guess is that Amedda didn't know during the Clone Wars and was just riding Palpatine's coattails. He might have found out during or just after Order 66, or after the creation of the Empire. – Null Feb 03 '16 at 05:56
  • Why couldn't his allegiance be to power? That's would explain why he became Vice Chancellor, and then support the shift from Republic to Empire. – HorusKol Feb 03 '16 at 06:28
  • In a book that offers BTS and cross sections about RotS, he is stated to be aware of Palpatine's Sith identity, and was assassinated shortly after the rise of the Empire (he served his purpose). I guess it's Legends now. Anyway, this qualifies as an answer, but I can't access that book for another couple weeks. I hope someone else know what I'm talking about and properly cite it in an answer. – thegreatjedi Feb 03 '16 at 06:56
  • In canon though it's specified he knew Palpatine's darkest secrets, but not exactly what. He managed to survive Palpatine after Endor, holding the Empire together as his Grand Vizier – thegreatjedi Feb 03 '16 at 07:07

2 Answers2

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The (Disney canon) 'Star Wars in 100 Scenes' factbook indicates that Mas Amedda does indeed know where the bodies are buried. Under the circumstances, I'm reasonably confident that the "secrets" that he knows would includes knowledge of Palpatine being a Sith, or else his other actions would make no sense.

enter image description here

Later, Amedda is present when Yoda arrives and was, apparently listening to a conversation between the Emperor and an individual who's explicitly referred to as both "Lord Vader" and "Darth Vader" and who refers to the Emperor as "My Master". If Amedda can't spot a Sith Lord at this distance, perhaps he's in the wrong line of work:

Softly, Yoda approached the chamber. All four of the beings in the room — the two red guards, Mas Amedda, and the hooded figure of Darth Sidious — were too focused on the hologram in the center of the room to notice him. Darth Vader, who had been the Jedi Anakin Skywalker, had apparently been reporting. “— taken care of, my Master,” Vader said.
“Good, good,” Sidious said. “Send a message to all ships of the Trade Federation. Tell them the Separatist leaders have been wiped out.
“Very good, my lord.”
“You have done well, Lord Vader.”

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - Junior Novelisation

There's also some additional info in the Revenge of the Sith: Visual Dictionary that confirms that Amedda and Sly Moore were in Palpatine's confidence.

enter image description here

Valorum
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This also can be answered from the Revenge of the Sith movie.

Mas Amedda stands behind Palpatine when Yoda comes to fight him. He can clearly hear Yoda calling Palpatine "Darth Sidious", then he witnesses Palpatine when he attacks Yoda with Force lightning.

Here is the script from imsdb.com:

YODA enters, using the Force to throw two RED GUARDS against the wall, knocking them unconscious. DARTH SIDIOUS turns his chair toward YODA. MAS AMEDDA stands behind SIDIOUS's desk.

YODA: I hear a new apprentice, you have. Emperor, or should I call you Darth Sidious.

DARTH SlDIOUS: Master Yoda, you survived.

YODA: Surprised?

DARTH SlDIOUS: Your arrogance blinds you, Master Yoda. Now you will experience the full power of the dark side.

The Dark Lord raises his arms, and LIGHTNING BOLTS shoot out, surrounding YODA. YODA is picked up and thrown across the room, hitting the wall and sliding down in a crumpled heap. DARTH SIDIOUS chuckles.

[...]

MAS AMEDDA leaves the room. PALPATINE approaches a stunned YODA.

It's not said that Mas is already aware about Palpatine's secret identity, but regarding his lack of reaction, it looks pretty obvious to me that he knows. And if he didn't, well, he does now.

Neow
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