Donald Trump’s former chief of staff to the White House will no longer cooperate with the congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, in the opposite direction underscoring the growing rigor among colleagues. allies of former presidents and legislators.
Bennie Thompson, the Democrat who chaired the January 6 selection committee, said last month that Mark Meadows had “engaged” with the panel of lawmakers through his attorney, and had provided records. to the committee and will issue an order of removal following a congressional subpoena.
But George Terwilliger, Meadows’ attorney, said on Tuesday that his client would no longer cooperate, accusing the commission of not operating in “good faith”. In a letter to Thompson and obtained by the Financial Times, Terwilliger said the committee “has no intention of respecting boundaries regarding executive privilege”.
Terwilliger and a spokesman for the January 6 committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U-turn from Meadows comes as the former chief of staff has been criticized by Trump loyalists for an upcoming memoir in which Meadows details the then president’s duel with Covid- 19. In the book, Meadows said Trump tested positive for the virus before a televised debate with Joe Biden.
Trump and his allies have sought to invoke “executive privilege,” a legal convention that means some of the president’s communications are kept confidential, as the basis for not cooperating with the commission. 6, included Democratic lawmakers and just two Republicans: Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.
Trump sued the panel in an attempt to prevent the release of documents relating to his final days in office, while Steve Bannon, another Trump confidant, was indicted by a federal grand jury. prosecuted last month for contempt of Congress after failing to comply with subpoenas. from the council of legislators.
It remains unclear whether the Meadows case follows a similar trajectory. Meadows was a Republican congressman from North Carolina before being appointed Trump’s fourth and final chief of staff.
