Jan 6th Committee Considers Contempt Charges For Mark Meadows But Says They ‘Won’t Rush’

The Chairman of the House committee investigating the January 6th U.S. Capitol insurrection says there is “still time” for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to comply with a subpoena before the panel moves forward with a vote to hold him in contempt of Congress.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said on Tuesday that the committee “won’t rush the effort” to make it clear it has given the former North Carolina congressman multiple opportunities to cooperate. In the committee’s September subpoena, Thompson cited Meadows’ efforts to overturn Trump’s defeat in the weeks prior to the insurrection and his pressure on state officials to push the former president’s false claims of widespread voter fraud. But Thompson indicated that the panel is still prepared to hold Meadows in contempt in the coming weeks if he doesn’t give lawmakers any information about his and Trump’s roles in what transpired in the hours before the Capitol was attacked that day.

Meadows’ lawyer has repeatedly made clear that he won’t comply with the September subpoena, arguing that Trump has said he will assert executive privilege over the testimony. Meadows was Trump’s top aide at the time of the insurrection, unlike longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon, who was held in contempt by the House in October and indicted last week. Bannon had left the White House years earlier. Bannon surrendered on Monday to FBI agents after he was indicted on Friday on two federal counts of criminal contempt — one for refusing to appear for a congressional deposition and the other for refusing to provide documents in response to the committee’s subpoena.

Trump's former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows floats the bizarre idea that Trump should be Speaker of the House to own the libs:

"You talk about melting down…people would go crazy!" pic.twitter.com/bT1XEs2EqK

— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) November 18, 2021

The committee has rejected those arguments, especially as the White House has said that President Joe Biden would waive any privilege over Meadows’ interview and as courts have so far shot down Trump’s efforts to stop the committee from gathering information. The House panel has argued that they have questions for Meadows and Clark, as they did with Bannon, that do not directly involve conversations with Trump and couldn’t possibly be blocked by privilege claims. “We will make a similar expansive argument with Meadows and Clark we did with Bannon,” Thompson said.

“You don’t need to be an elected member of Congress to be the speaker” -Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows insinuates Republicans can put Trump as speaker of the house in 2022 even if he’s not in Congress. pic.twitter.com/tmFRuXpDup

— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) November 18, 2021

Meadows, a prolific texter, was known to use a personal cell number during his time as White House chief of staff. That number, which has since been disconnected, was the same as the one he had used as a Republican member of Congress, with an area code from his home state of North Carolina. Trump administration officials were repeatedly cited for using their personal emails to conduct government business.

Bannon: Indicted.
Meadows: Sweating.https://t.co/OyYH0AD9K3

— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) November 13, 2021

The panel is also discussing a vote to hold former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark in contempt after Clark appeared for a deposition earlier this month and declined to answer questions. Clark is a former assistant attorney general who aligned himself with Trump after Trump lost the 2020 election and pressured the Justice Department to help overturn his defeat.