Mark Meadows Follows Trump’s Orders By Defying Jan 6th Subpoena
Former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows did not appear for a deposition on Friday in front of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol attack, sources familiar with the investigation tell CNN, setting up a potential showdown that could lead to the panel beginning a criminal referral process against him.
Committee staffers had been prepared to go forward with the interview and waited in a room on Capitol Hill with a stenographer, but started to file out of the room nine minutes after the deadline passed.
The Committee has not commented on whether Meadows was a no-show, and his attorney did not respond to a request for comment after the scheduled deposition. But Steve Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday for his refusal to appear before the Committee, and it’s expected that Meadows will suffer the same fate if he continues to remain silent.
Former White House CoS Mark Meadows making clear today he will not cooperate w/ Jan. 6 committee until courts rule on Trump privilege claim.
Comes after Meadows received a new letter saying Biden won't assert privilege or immunity over docs & testimony. (@JaxAlemany was first). pic.twitter.com/qNOtg8Pm6V
— Zachary Cohen (@ZcohenCNN) November 11, 2021
Ahead of the scheduled deposition Friday morning, Meadows’ attorney, George J. Terwilliger III, issued a statement saying his client would not cooperate with the committee until courts ruled on former Donald Trump’s claims of executive privilege, noting “a sharp legal dispute with the committee.”
Contrary to what traitorous loser @MarkMeadows thinks, he has no privilege of any kind and Congress can absolutely compel him to testify, thanks #FAAFO #TrumpCrimeSyndicate https://t.co/3BfF7TrIqm
— Tara Dublin (@taradublinrocks) November 12, 2021
By officially setting a deadline that Meadows did not meet, the Committee took an official step toward possibly referring Meadows to the Department of Justice for contempt of Congress. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, scheduled the Friday deposition late Thursday evening in an effort to force Meadows’ compliance.
The Select Committee issued subpoenas for records and testimony to the following individuals:
▪️Nicholas Luna
▪️Molly Michael
▪️Ben Williamson
▪️Christopher Liddell
▪️John McEntee
▪️Keith Kellogg
▪️Kayleigh McEnany
▪️Stephen Miller
▪️Cassidy Hutchinson
▪️Kenneth Klukowski— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) November 9, 2021
[This is a developing and continuing story, please check back for updates]