House Jan. 6 panel has 'no choice' but contempt charge against former Trump aide Meadows

[December 09, 2021]  By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows could become the third person to face a criminal contempt charge for refusing to cooperate with the U.S. House of Representatives panel probing the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the committee said on Wednesday.

Representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Select Committee, said in a letter to Meadows' attorney, George Terwilliger, that Meadows - a former House member - had failed to cooperate with the panel.

"The Select Committee is left with no choice but to advance contempt proceedings and recommend that the body in which Mr. Meadows once served refer him for criminal prosecution," Thompson wrote in the letter, which was released by the committee.

Thompson later told reporters he expected the committee to meet next week on whether to cite Meadows for contempt. "We have every intention to move forward with a contempt citation on Meadows and we'll go from there," he said.

Terwilliger did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meadows refused to appear for a deposition scheduled on Wednesday, instead filing a lawsuit against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the nine members of the Select Committee. The suit alleges that subpoenas sent to Meadows violate legal protections for senior advisers to a president, and charge the committee with using excessively broad subpoenas to obtain Meadows' mobile telephone data.

"Mr. Meadows's flawed lawsuit won’t succeed at slowing down the Select Committee's investigation or stopping us from getting the information we’re seeking," Thompson and Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, a Republican, said in a statement.

The Justice Department, at the House's request, has already brought similar charges against Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon. The House is also considering similar action against former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark.

Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone told the committee that he would not testify, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, his lawyer said.

'I LOVE IT'

Meadows told the committee last week that he would hand over some documents and appear for a deposition. He changed his mind by Tuesday.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks to reporters following a television interview, outside the White House in Washington, U.S. October 21, 2020. REUTERS/Al Drago

Thompson said documents were handed over but that Terwilliger also argued that hundreds of emails and text messages are subject to privilege.

On Jan. 6, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to prevent formal congressional certification of the then-president's 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Before the riot, Trump, speaking at a rally, repeated his false claims that the election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud.

Thompson said documents the committee has received from Meadows' attorney include communications with organizers of that rally and with a member of Congress, who was not identified, about the possibility of replacing some state electors with handpicked candidates to keep Trump in power.

In response, Meadows apparently said: "I love it," according to Thompson's letter.

While more than 250 witnesses have testified to the committee, Trump has urged associates not to cooperate, calling the Democratic-led investigation politically motivated and arguing that his communications are protected by executive privilege. Many legal experts have said, however, that legal principle does not apply to former presidents.

Thompson has noted that even as the committee and Trump’s attorneys battle in court over executive privilege issues, Meadows disclosed details about circumstances surrounding the Jan. 6 attack, including conversations with Trump, in a new book Meadows is currently promoting.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone, Sonya Hepinstall and Peter Cooney)

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