US Capitol riot panel moves to condemn ex-Trump aide in contempt | Political News

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Donald Trump’s former chief of staff stopped cooperating with congressional inquiry into the insurrection in the Capitol on Jan. 6.

A committee of the U.S. House of Representatives investigating the insurgency in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 is preparing to file a contempt of Congress case against Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff of former President Donald Trump.

Meadows declined to be interviewed by the House committee, which was tasked with reviewing the events leading up to the attack on the Capitol building by a mob of Trump supporters.

The panel is scheduled to meet Monday night to advance the contempt case against Meadows, which U.S. lawmakers believe played a key role in Trump’s campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Trump seeks to block the release of White House records related to the deadly unrest by insisting on “executive privilege” – and some of his former top advisers have made similar arguments in their denial that cooperate with the House committee.

Meadows last week stopped cooperating with the investigation and refused to show up for a scheduled deposition.

“To be clear, Mr Meadows’ failure to comply, and this recommendation of contempt, were not based on disagreements of good faith with assertions of privilege, ”the committee said in a statement on Sunday. “Instead, Mr Meadows failed to comply and warrant the findings in contempt because he flatly refused to appear to give any testimony.”

A committee vote in favor of charging Meadows with contempt sets the vote of the entire House of Representatives later this week and potentially prosecute the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Justice Department has already filed contempt against Trump’s political adviser Steve Bannon for refusing to cooperate with the investigation.

The committee’s inquiry focused on Trump’s efforts to reverse the election results, which he falsely asserted were tainted by widespread fraud-an assertion that has been repeatedly rejected by U.S. courts as having no merit.

The panel of U.S. lawmakers has interviewed hundreds of witnesses and is preparing to hold public hearings starting next month.

On Jan. 6, thousands of supporters of the former Republican president rallied in Washington, DC, where Trump gave a fervent speech in which he urged the majority to “stop stealing”.

A mob of his supporters marched on the U.S. Capitol, stormed police barricades and stormed halls of Congress. Trump was later impeachable for “incitement of insurrection” in connection with the riot.

House January 6 Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, center, said the panel had ‘no choice’ but to move forward with contempt cases against Meadows [J Scott Applewhite/AP Photo]

U.S. lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence, who met in formal session that day to prove President Joe Biden’s election victory, were temporarily forced into hiding until police regained control of the Capitol building.

In the 11 months since then, more than 700 people have been arrested and charged with obstruction, assault or impeding law enforcement along with other infractions, according to the FBI.

Among the documents the committee wanted to ask about Meadows was an email he sent saying “the National Guard will protect pro-Trump people” on Jan. 6.

Investigators are also interested in Meadow’s outreach to officials in disputed states, members of Congress, Justice Department leaders and organizers of Trump’s rally that turned violent.

Meadows filed a lawsuit last week to block the committee’s request that he sit down for an interview, arguing that the questioning was too broad and intrusive. Committee leaders denied Meadow’s legal claims as “defective”.

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