WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to elect former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for contempt of Congress after he stopped cooperating with the Committee to investigate the January 6 Uprising on Capitol Hill. it was the first time the House of Representatives voted to keep a scorned former member since the 1830s.
The vote near partisan 222-208 is the second time the special committee has sought to punish a witness for defying a subpoena. The vote is the panel’s latest show of force on January 6, with no unexplored corners – and no unanswered subpoenas – as it investigates the attack. worst on the Capitol in more than 200 years. Lawmakers on the panel are determined to get answers quickly and in doing so will reassert congressional authority that has been eroded during former President Donald Trump’s time in office.
“History will be written about these times, about the work this committee has done,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, R-Miss., Chair. “And history will not view any of you as a martyr. History will not view you as a victim.”
Representative Jamie Raskin, D-Md., another member of the panel, began Tuesday’s debate over the resolution by reading frantic texts from the day of the attack that revealed members Congress, Fox News and even Trump’s son urged Meadows to convince the president to act quickly to stop the three-hour attack by his supporters.
The House vote will send the matter to the US attorney’s office in Washington, where prosecutors in that office will decide whether to present the case to a grand jury on criminal charges. can happen or not.
If convicted, Bannon and Meadows could each face up to a year in prison on each count.
The nine-member panel voted Monday night 9-0 to recommend charges against the former North Carolina congressman, who left in March 2020 to become Trump’s chief of staff.
Republicans on Tuesday called the action against Meadows a distraction from the work of the House, with one member calling it “evil” and “non-American.”
Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio took to the floor to praise Meadows: “Make no mistake, when the Democrats voted in favor of this resolution, it was a vote to put a good man in jail.”
Trump also defended Meadows in an interview, saying, “I think Mark should do what’s right. He’s a man of honor. He shouldn’t have done that.”
And Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger, defended his client in a statement ahead of the vote, noting that he had provided documents to the panel and insisted he was not required to appear. present for interview.
Terwilliger said, “The Select Committee’s true intentions in dealing with Mr Meadows were revealed when it accused him of contempt on the grounds of documents his cooperation had produced. “
Meadows himself sued the panel, asking the court to void two subpoenas that he said were “too broad and too burdensome.”
Meanwhile, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told reporters: “I think we’re all watching what’s going on on the House side. And it will be interesting to reveal all of it. all the participants.”
He added that he had no contact with Meadows on the day of the attack.
Democrats cited lengthy text messages from January 6 provided by Meadows while he was cooperating with the committee.
“We need an Oval Office address,” texted Donald Trump Jr, the committee said, as his father’s supporters stormed the Capitol, sending lawmakers to campaign and disrupting certification. Joe Biden’s presidential victory. “He has to take the lead now. It has gone too far and got out of hand.”
Trump Jr. added, “He must condemn this — the sooner the better.” In response to one of Trump Jr.’s texts, Meadows said, “I’m pushing it a lot. I agree.”
Committee members said the texts raise new questions about what was happening at the White House – and what Trump himself was doing – as the attack unfolded. The commission planned to question Meadows about communications, including 6,600 pages of records taken from personal email accounts and about 2,000 text messages. The panel did not provide any complete contact information.
Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the panel’s vice chairman, said at the committee’s Monday night meeting that a key issue raised by the documents was whether Trump sought to impede the evidence. congressional approval by refusing to send a strong message to the rioters to stop or not.
“These texts leave no doubt,” Cheney said. “The White House knows exactly what’s happening at the Capitol.”
The investigative panel interviewed more than 300 witnesses, and subpoenaed more than 40, as they sought to create the most comprehensive profile of the evolution of the uprising and the violent siege.
If Meadows appeared to remove him, lawmakers planned to question him about Trump’s efforts to overturn the election in the weeks leading up to the uprising, including reaching out to states and the federal government. his contacts with members of Congress.
The panel said it wanted to know more about whether Trump would participate in discussions regarding the National Guard response, which have been delayed by hours as violence escalated and Rioters beat the police guarding the Capitol building.
Documents provided by Meadows include an email he sent to an unidentified person saying the Guard would be there to “protect Trump supporters,” the panel said, and more. more will be available in standby mode. The commission did not disclose any additional details about that email.
Committee staffers said they would interview Meadows about emails “sent to Department of Justice leadership on December 29 and 30, 2020 and January 1, 2021, encouraging investigations into suspected fraud. voter fraud”, although election officials and courts across the country have denied those claims.
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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
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