U.S. House panel details case against former top Trump aide Meadows

Reuters

Published Dec 12, 2021 11:43PM ET

Updated Dec 13, 2021 08:41PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mark Meadows, who served as Republican former President Donald Trump's chief of staff, said in an email ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that the U.S. National Guard would "protect pro-Trump people," a congressional committee said in a report issued on Sunday.

The U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the deadly riot recommends in the report that Meadows be prosecuted for refusing to fully cooperate with its inquiry. The committee is due to vote on the issue on Monday.

Meadow's Jan. 5 email about the National Guard, in which he indicated troops would be present and more would be on standby, was one of the issues the committee was hoping to question him about, it said in the report.

Meadows has been called repeatedly to appear for depositions before the Democratic-led Select Committee and has declined to do so despite being subpoenaed. While he has turned over some information requested by the panel, he has held back many documents, arguing they are protected because his testimony may be covered by executive privilege because he was working for the president.

"To be clear, Mr Meadows' failure to comply, and this contempt recommendation, are not based on good-faith disagreements over privilege assertions," the committee said.

"Rather, Mr Meadows has failed to comply and warrants contempt findings because he has wholly refused to appear to provide any testimony."

A House member before joining the Trump administration, Meadows could become the third associate of the former Republican president to face a criminal contempt charge. The Justice Department, at the House's request, has already brought similar charges against Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon. The House is also considering similar action against former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark.