investigation on January 6: Latest developments

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A three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the latest effort by former President Donald Trump to prevent the National Archives from returning documents from around Jan. 6 to the House.

Trump claims executive privilege, but the current White House says he will no longer call for that and he is happy to help with the investigation. A district court judge ruled against Trump, writing: “Presidents are not kings. And Plaintiff is not President.”

But the handover is on hold while the appeal is pending.

Roger Stone and Alex Jones are getting subpoenas

The panel subpoenaed five Trump allies directly involved in planning “Stop the Steal” rallies, including longtime Republican operative Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Dustin Stockton and Jennifer Lawrence, key players in the “Stop the Steal” movement after the election, and Taylor Budowich, who is currently the chief political spokesman for the former President and serves as director of communications for the Save America PAC, were also given of subpoenas. .

The 1st Praetorian Amendment

The 1st Amendment Praetorian, a group founded in 2020 that recruits military veterans and former police officers to provide security at right-wing events, also got subpoenas. The group provided security at pro-Trump rallies in November and December 2020 followed by violence and arrests on the streets of DC. The group’s founder, Robert Patrick Lewis, was a feature speaker at an event on Jan. 5. He encouraged the American Revolution in his short speech to the crowd, in which he compared the “Stop the Steal” movement to surprise attacks by George Washington to pro-British troops after crossing the Delaware River in 1776, CNN’s Marshall Cohen reported.

Mark Meadows – will he answer the questions?

The cat and mouse game continues with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat member of the House select committee, told CNN over the weekend that the committee will decide “this week” whether it will refer Meadows for criminal contempt charges for violating an earlier subpoena. this month, who failed to turn over the documents or go out for a deposition.

Schiff told CNN Sunday: “I can’t go into … what communications we have or don’t have with specific witnesses, but we’re acting quickly on anyone who interferes with the committee, and that’s certainly the happened .with Mr. (Steve) Bannon, “referring to Trump’s ally who was not guilty of the criminal contempt of the Congressional cases against him. “This will happen to Mr. Meadows, and Mr. (Jeffrey) Clark or anyone else.”

Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark earlier this month stoned the House select committee, responded to a subpoena asking him to appear for a panel interview, but did not answer questions put to him, he said. of sources familiar with his appearance on CNN at the time.

Democratic Rep. Said. Pete Aguilar of California, another select committee member, told CNN’s Jim Acosta on Saturday that Meadows still has “a small window where he can still comply … But if he doesn’t comply, the committee will do as very clear as we did with Steve Bannon that we were willing to use any means necessary. “

Committee members said recently that many of the questions for Meadows have nothing to do with Trump himself and they will not be subject to an argument on executive privilege.

RELATED: Meadows slaps McCarthy and suggests Trump should be elected spokesman if Republicans win the House

Aguilar previously told CNN of Meadows: “His conversations about stopping a free and fair election, about criticizing and stopping the counting of electoral votes, about his interaction with officials of the campaign on private devices that have not been returned, all those issues are not a privilege. worthy and he has something to explain. “

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