Capitol attack House committee votes to hold Mark Meadows in contempt

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol assault has voted to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt, moving to punish Donald Trump’s most senior aide for refusing to cooperate with the probe.

The select committee convened Monday to unanimously advance a referral of Meadows to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. The matter has been submitted to the full House of Representatives, which is expected to approve it on Tuesday.

That would make Meadows the second Trump ally to be sanctioned by the Democrat-controlled House for defying a subpoena, after Steve Bannon, the Trump White House’s chief strategist, was held in contempt in October.

Bennie Thompson, the chair of the select committee, said in an opening statement the former White House chief of staff displayed willful noncompliance in the defiance of his subpoena to testify about the January 6 insurrection.

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“It comes down to this,” Thompson said. “Mr. Meadows started by doing the right thing: cooperating. He handed over records that he didn’t try to shield behind some excuse. But in an investigation like ours, that’s just a first step.”

“When the records raise questions – as these most certainly do – you have to come in and answer those questions. And when it was time for him to follow the law, come in, and testify on those questions, he changed his mind and told us to pound sand. He didn’t even show up.”

The contempt vote, while highly unusual in Congress, was overshadowed by explosive new details about messages exchanged between Meadows and lawmakers, Trump’s eldest son, and a trio of FOX News personalities regarding the urgent need for the former president to intervene to stop the attack.

Meadows said National Guard would be ready to 'protect pro Trump people' before Capitol riot

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said in an email ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that the National Guard would be present to “protect pro Trump people,” a congressional committee said in a report issued on Sunday.

The graphic messages illustrated the dismay of Trump’s inner circle as the Capitol riot intensified, which according to congresswoman Liz Cheney, the Republican chair of the investigative committee, served as evidence of Trump’s "supreme dereliction of duty."

Trump would not take any steps for more than three hours, the texts show.

"The violence was evident to all; it was covered in real time, by almost every news channel. But for 187 minutes, President Trump refused to act when action by our president was required, essential and indeed compelled by his oath to our Constitution," said Rep. Cheney.

The Wyoming Republican also noted that at some point during the insurrection, one of Trump’s sons texted Meadows, pleading for action from the president.

"As the violence continued, one of the President's sons texts Mr. Meadows, 'He's got to condemn this ASAP. The capitol police tweet is not enough,' Donald Trump Jr. texted. Meadows responded, 'I am pushing it hard. I agree.'"

Appeals court rejects Trump bid to withhold records on Capitol attack

A US appeals court has rejected an effort by former president Donald Trump to block a House select committee from getting a tranche of White House records for its probe of the deadly Capitol riot on Jan. 6.

"Donald Trump Jr. texted again and again, urging action by the President. Quote, 'We need an Oval Office address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far. And gotten out of hand,' end quote. But hours passed without necessary action by the president," Cheney said.

As the White House chief of staff, Meadows was privy to the planning and strategy discussions surrounding efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the election results and prevent Joe Biden from taking power.

The House panel released a report on Sunday, revealing that Meadows, a former North Carolina lawmaker, played a pivotal role in orchestrating efforts to subvert the will of American voters and keep Trump in office through unfounded allegations of massive electoral fraud.

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