Jan. 6 committee threatens to hold Mark Meadows in contempt if he does not testify
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The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol warned Thursday that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows could be charged with contempt if he does not testify before Congress on Friday.
In a letter sent by committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., to Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger III, Thompson stated a “failure to appear at the deposition” by Meadows would be viewed “as willful non-compliance.”
In this Jan. 29, 2020, file photo, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., speaks with reporters during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
“Such willful noncompliance with the subpoena would force the Select Committee to consider invoking the contempt of Congress procedures in 2 U.S.C. §§ 192, 194 — which could result in a referral from the House of Representatives to the Department of Justice for criminal charges — as well as the possibility of having a civil action to enforce the subpoena brought against Mr. Meadows in his personal capacity,” Thompson wrote in the letter.
Thompson’s letter to Terwilliger comes after the White House notified Meadows’ attorney on Thursday that President Biden would not assert executive privilege or immunity over the testimony or documents requested by the committee, as reported by ABC News.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., arrive for the first House select committee hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 27, 2021.
(AP Photo/ Andrew Harnik, Pool)
“President Biden recognizes the importance of candid advice in the discharge of the President’s constitutional responsibilities and believes that, in appropriate cases, executive privilege should be asserted to protect former senior White House staff from having to testify about conversations concerning the President’s exercise of the duties of his office,” the letter read from White House counsel Jonathan Su, ABC News reported.
Meadows was subpoenaed by the committee in September, along with former Pentagon official Kash Patel, former White House adviser Steve Bannon, and former White House deputy chief of staff for communications Dan Scavino.
In this file photo from Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018, Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, talks about the approaching midterm election during an interview with The Associated Press, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
In a letter to Meadows around the time his subpoena was issued, Thompson said the committee “has reason to believe” that he has “information relevant to understanding important activities that led to and informed events at the Capitol on January 6.”
The House voted last month to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee.
Fox News did not receive an immediate response from Meadows’ attorney.
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