U.S. House panel details case against former top Trump aide Meadows
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[December 13, 2021]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mark Meadows,
who served as Republican former President Donald Trump's chief of staff,
said in an email ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that the U.S. National
Guard would "protect pro-Trump people," a congressional committee said
in a report issued on Sunday.
The U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the deadly
riot recommends in the report that Meadows be prosecuted for refusing to
fully cooperate with its inquiry. The committee is due to vote on the
issue on Monday.
Meadow's Jan. 5 email about the National Guard, in which he indicated
troops would be present and more would be on standby, was one of the
issues the committee was hoping to question him about, it said in the
report.
Meadows has been called repeatedly to appear for depositions before the
Democratic-led Select Committee and has declined to do so despite being
subpoenaed. While he has turned over some information requested by the
panel, he has held back many documents, arguing they are protected
because his testimony may be covered by executive privilege because he
was working for the president.
"To be clear, Mr Meadows' failure to comply, and this contempt
recommendation, are not based on good-faith disagreements over privilege
assertions," the committee said.
"Rather, Mr Meadows has failed to comply and warrants contempt findings
because he has wholly refused to appear to provide any testimony."
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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/File Photo
A House member before joining the Trump administration, Meadows
could become the third associate of the former Republican president
to face a criminal contempt charge. 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.
Meadows has filed a lawsuit against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and
the Select Committee, accusing it of violating legal protections for
a senior adviser to a president and using excessively broad
subpoenas to obtain his mobile telephone data.
Trump, at a rally on Jan. 6, repeated his unfounded allegation that
his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 2020
election was the result of fraud, and urged his supporters to march
on the Capitol.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley. Additional reporting by Patricia
Zengerle.)
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