US Capitol riot panel recommends criminal contempt charges for ex-Trump aide Mark Meadows
- House panel is investigating the deadly January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol
- Donald Trump’s last White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has refused to testify
Lawmakers investigating the assault on the US Capitol voted unanimously Monday to pursue criminal contempt charges against Donald Trump’s former chief of staff for refusing to testify.
Mark Meadows has made clear he has no intention of complying with a subpoena to appear before the cross-party January 6 congressional select committee and missed a scheduled deposition for the second time last week.
Members are investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election through an anti-democratic campaign that led to the deadly Capitol riot – and the help he got from Meadows.
Trump’s fourth and final White House chief – a former congressman – told the panel he would withhold testimony until courts resolve his former boss’s claim of “executive privilege”, which allows presidents to keep certain conversations with aides private.
“Whatever legacy he thought he left in the House, this is his legacy now: former colleagues singling him out for criminal prosecution because he wouldn’t answer questions about what he knows about a brutal attack on our democracy,” committee chairman Bennie Thompson said.
“That’s his legacy. But he hasn’t left us any choice. Mr Meadows put himself in this situation. He must now accept the consequences.”
Investigators maintain Meadows has undermined any right to refuse testimony, as the ultraconservative is promoting a new memoir that includes detailed accounts of January 6 and his conversations with Trump.