Jan. 6 committee votes to hold Trump’s former chief of staff Meadows in contempt

Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks to the media at the White House in Washington, DC, October 21, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images)

Members of the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol have shown they’re willing to pursue criminal contempt referrals against witnesses who refuse to comply with the panel’s subpoenas.

Former President Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows is the latest official to face such a referral from the panel. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, said that Meadows left the committee with “no choice but to advance contempt proceedings” after he stopped cooperating with the panel.

Members voted Monday night to formally advance the criminal contempt report against Meadows for a full floor House vote, which is expected to come Tuesday. The vote on the resolution by the full House is the last step before sending the referral to the Justice Department.

But what does criminal contempt mean? It is one of the three options the congressional panel can pursue to enforce its subpoenas, along with civil and inherent contempt.

Once a criminal contempt referral clears the House select committee, it heads to the full House for a vote. If that vote succeeds, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi certifies the report to the United States attorney for the District of Columbia.

Under law, this certification then requires the United States attorney to “bring the matter before the grand jury for its action,” but the Justice Department will also makes its own determinations for prosecuting.

Any individual who is found liable for contempt of Congress is then guilty of a crime that may result in a fine and between one and 12 months imprisonment. But this process is rarely invoked and rarely leads to jail time.

As severe as a criminal contempt referral sounds, the House’s choice to use the Justice Department may be more of a warning shot than a solution. Holding a person in criminal contempt through a prosecution could take years, and historic criminal contempt cases have been derailed by appeals and acquittals.

The committee approved a criminal contempt report against Trump ally Steve Bannon in October after he refused to comply with a subpoena deadline.

Read more about criminal contempt and how it compares with civil and inherent contempt.

CNN’s Zachary Cohen, Ryan Nobles, Annie Grayer, Whitney Wild and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.

Mark Meadows told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that tonight’s contempt vote in the Jan. 6 committee was “disappointing, but not surprising.”

He then accused the committee of not having a legislative purpose and using him to go after former President Trump.

There was no mention of tonight’s newly revealed texts.

Meadows reiterated what he’s said before about working with the committee, noting that he’s “tried to share non-privileged information, but truly the executive privilege that Donald Trump has claimed is his to waive, it’s not mine to waive, it’s not Congress’ to waive. That’s why we filed the lawsuit.”

Meadows also addressed his Jan. 5 email in which he said that “the National Guard would be present to ‘protect pro Trump people’ and that many more would be available on standby.”

President Trump wanted “to make sure everything was safe and secure,” Meadows told Hannity.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, chair of the select committee investigating the January 6 attack, speaks to reporters after the conclusion of a business meeting on Capitol Hill on December 13, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chair of the Jan. 6 select committee, told reporters after their meeting that the information they have revealed from former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is just a small sample of what the committee has received.

It has led him and the committee to believe that members of Congress were more involved in efforts to overturn the election results than people realize.

Thompson refused to name those members but said their identities would be shared with the public at some point.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, also a member of the committee, said that the panel believes they have built a strong case for Meadows to be convicted of contempt, even though his situation is different than that of Steve Bannon or Jeffery Clark.

The lawmaker went on to say that asking Meadows questions about the information they’ve learned from the documents is a crucial part of their investigation and something he can’t avoid by hiding behind a privilege claim.

“One, Mr. Meadows provided them so they they can’t be privileged if he provided them, but it helps tell the narrative that there were people in this building, people like me on the House floor, who were asking Mr. Meadows for help. And it’s unfortunate that, that he couldn’t get the President to do anything about it until the very end. And so those are questions that we have for Mr. Meadows, those are things that he should have to account for and explain,” he said.

Aguilar said he believes Meadows backed away from his promise to cooperate with the committee because “President Trump told him to.”

He also said he believes there is still a lot of information Meadows has yet to share.

“There’s clearly a lot of information. The contempt report talks about the privilege log. That was part of the discussion as well, his 1,000 text messages that were, that were part of that log that that we do not have the contents of those. So there’s a lot more information that we feel Mr. Meadows has about the events that took place,” he told reporters.

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

The Jan. 6 committee revealed during Monday’s meeting texts between former President Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawmakers, Fox News personalities, and Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., about the urgency for Trump to stop the siege.

Those texts, as several members of the committee noted, were already turned over to the committee and are not covered by any claim of privilege — which Meadows has continued to assert since reversing his decision to cooperate with the investigation.

The messages serve as evidence of Trump’s “supreme dereliction of duty,” the committee’s vice chairwoman, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, said Monday.

The Jan. 6 committee publicly released graphics that include texts sent to Meadows during the days around the insurrection.

The committee pointed to texts exchanged between Meadows and lawmakers, Fox News personalities and Trump’s eldest son about the urgency for the former president to act to stop the siege.

Here’s what the texts said:

Texts from unnamed lawmakers sent to Meadows said that former Vice President Mike Pence “should call out all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all.”

Cheney said other texts were sent in real time about the events as they unfolded.

“These text messages leave no doubt. The White House knew exactly what was happening here at the Capitol,” Cheney said.

“One text Mr. Meadows received said quote ‘We are under siege here at the Capitol,’” she read.

“In a third, ‘Mark, protesters are literally storming the Capitol, breaking windows on doors, rushing in. Is Trump going to say something?’ A fourth, ‘There’s an armed standoff at the House chamber door.’ And another from someone inside the Capitol: ‘We are all helpless.’”

Cheney also read texts from news personalities from Fox News and Trump’s own children.

Cheney continued:

When the events of the certification of the Electoral College eventually happened in the early hours of Jan. 7, Meadows received a text calling Jan. 6 a “terrible day.”

“Yesterday was a terrible day. We tried everything we could in our objections to the 6 states,” the text read. “I’m sorry nothing worked.”

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the US Capitol voted Monday to recommend that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows be referred to the Department of Justice on criminal contempt of Congress charges for his refusal to cooperate with the committee or appear for a scheduled deposition. 

Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, made the motion for the committee to vote for the contempt resolution.

The vote in the committee, made up of nine lawmakers, was unanimous. The contempt resolution is expected to come to the House floor for a vote on Tuesday.

The committee showed texts sent between Meadows and lawmakers, Fox News personalities and then-President Trump’s own son about the urgency for the former president to act to stop the siege.

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has released more information about texts sent to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows during the days around the insurrection.

Texts from unnamed lawmakers sent to Meadows said that former Vice President Mike Pence “should call out all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all.”

Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican and the committee’s vice chairwoman, said other texts were sent in real time about the events as they unfolded.

“In a third, ‘Mark, protesters are literally storming the Capitol, breaking windows on doors, rushing in. Is Trump going to say something?’ A fourth, ‘There’s an armed standoff at the House chamber door.’ And another from someone inside the Capitol: ‘We are all helpless.”

Cheney also read texts from news personalities from Fox News and Trump’s own son.

“Donald Trump Jr. texted again and again, urging action by the President. Quote, ‘We need an Oval Office address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far. And gotten out of hand’ end quote, but hours passed without necessary action by the President,” Cheney said.

When the events of the certification of the Electoral College eventually happened in the early hours of Jan. 7, Meadows received a text calling Jan,. 6 a “terrible day.”

“Yesterday was a terrible day. We tried everything we could in our objections to the 6 states,” the text read. “I’m sorry nothing worked.”

These are the text images shown in graphics during the committee meeting:

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot is meeting now to consider a resolution to hold Mark Meadows, former chief of staff in the Trump White House, in contempt of Congress. 

Thompson continued: “It comes down to this, Mr. Meadows started by doing the right thing, cooperating. He handed over records that he didn’t try to shield behind some excuse. But in an investigation like ours, that’s just the first step. When the records raise questions as these most certainly do, you have to come in and answer the questions. And when it is time for him to follow the law, come in and testify on those questions. He changed his mind. And he told us to pound sand. He didn’t even show up. “

Meadows is the latest official to face the possibility of such a referral from the panel. The committee approved a criminal contempt report against Trump ally Steve Bannon in October after he refused to comply with a subpoena deadline. 

The committee was ready to move forward with holding former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark in contempt but is giving him another chance to testify as he says he plans to plead the Fifth.

A House select committee aide tells CNN that Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chairs the panel, will recognize any member of the committee who wishes to speak on the resolution that will refer former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for criminal contempt.

In the past, only Thompson and Liz Cheney, vice chair of the panel, have spoken during business meetings of the committee that’s investigating Jan. 6.

Tonight, we expect to hear from several, if not all, of the members.

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is suing the House select committee investigating Jan. 6 and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking a federal court to block enforcement of the subpoena the committee issued him as well as the subpoena it issued to Verizon for his phone records, according to the complaint filed Dec. 8.

The lawsuit came after the committee signaled it would pursue a criminal contempt referral against Meadows because of his refusal to sit for a deposition in the investigation into the Capitol riot. Meadows alleges that the subpoenas are “overly broad and unduly burdensome,” while claiming that the committee “lacks lawful authority to seek and to obtain” the information requested.

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who serves as vice chair of the panel, told CNN last Wednesday evening, “We look forward to litigating that.” Cheney noted that Meadows is refusing to answer questions about documents that he turned over voluntarily.

The lawsuit points to President Biden’s refusal to assert executive privilege, which former President Trump has sought, in the investigation — a dispute currently being litigated in a separate case Trump has brought seeking to block the release of his White House records to House investigators.

“As a result, Mr. Meadows, a witness, has been put in the untenable position of choosing between conflicting privilege claims that are of constitutional origin and dimension and having to either risk enforcement of the subpoena issued to him, not merely by the House of Representatives, but through actions by the Executive and Judicial Branches, or, alternatively, unilaterally abandoning the former president’s claims of privileges and immunities,” Meadows’ lawsuit said.

Read more here.

Then White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows walks along the South Lawn of the White House on October 30, 2020.

The Jan. 6 committee informed former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows last week that it had “no choice” but to advance criminal contempt proceedings against him given that he had decided to no longer cooperate with its investigation.

On Sunday, the committee released its contempt report, which contained several new details about Meadows’ actions before and during Jan. 6, as well as his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

The committee notes that in one email Meadows sent to an individual about Jan. 6, he said that “the National Guard would be present to ‘protect pro Trump people’ and that many more would be available on standby.”

Additionally, the committee said in the report that Meadows “exchanged text messages with, and provided guidance to, an organizer of the January 6th rally on the Ellipse after the organizer told him that ‘[t]hings have gotten crazy and I desperately need some direction.’”

The new documents come as Meadows’ role is under renewed scrutiny following his decision to cease cooperating with the committee last week.

The committee has previously sought communications between Meadows and certain rally organizers as the panel remains focused on identifying any level of coordination with the Trump White House. The report goes on to note that Meadows was directly involved in efforts to overturn the election results in key swing states Trump lost and helped push unfounded claims about voter fraud.

Meadows’ lawyer asked the panel Monday to reconsider its plans. In a letter to the committee, Meadows’ attorney George Terwilliger III said the “contemplated referral would be contrary to law” because his client is a senior official who made a “good-faith invocation of executive privilege and testimonial immunity.”

What the committee is expected to do tonight: Members of the panel will vote to formally advance the criminal contempt report against Meadows for a full floor House vote as soon as later this week.

The vote by the full House is the last step before sending the referral to the Justice department.

William Walker, who was the top commander for the National Guard in Washington, DC, and responsible for troop deployment in support of law enforcement overwhelmed on Jan. 6, is meeting today with the House select committee, a source familiar with his appearance confirms to CNN.

CNN spotted Walker walking into the meeting with committee staff this afternoon. His meeting is currently ongoing.

Walker was appointed the House Sergeant at Arms in April. On Jan. 6, he was commanding general of the District of Columbia Army and Air Force National Guard.

Walker made waves in March during his testimony to a Senate panel investigating the US Capitol insurrection. Walker told the Senators that even though did not need Pentagon authority to mobilize troops to respond to protests that summer, a memo on Jan. 5 instructed him to seek approval from the Secretary of the Army and Defense before preparing troops to respond to a civil disturbance.

Walker described the additional level of authority needed to mobilize troops as “unusual.” He went on to say it took three hours for Army officials to give him the okay to send his troops in to help — this despite an urgent plea directly to him from the then Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund.

Newly revealed emails from former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows have raised additional questions about the National Guard response on Jan. 6.

Meadows sent an email saying the National Guard would be present to “protect pro Trump people” in the lead-up to the insurrection, according to a new report released by the House Select Committee Sunday night.

Walker has not responded to a CNN request for comment on his meeting with the committee.

The select committee would not comment on Walker’s appearance.

A full year after the 2020 presidential election, new details are still emerging about former President Trump’s unprecedented effort to overturn the results.

Many of Trump’s actions were done in public view, including dozens of ill-fated lawsuits and tweets that undermined the electoral process. But congressional inquiries and news reports have shed new light on what happened behind the scenes as Trump tried to cling to power.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of Trump’s attempted coup was how he relentlessly tried to weaponize the Justice Department to nullify President Joe Biden’s victory. The Democratic-run Senate Judiciary Committee investigated Trump’s conduct and concluded in a recent report that he “grossly abused the power of the presidency.”

Here’s a big-picture breakdown of the attempted coup, along with a day-by-day timeline of Trump’s efforts to co-opt the Justice Department to help his campaign.

Big-picture summary of the coup attempt: Four days after Election Day, CNN and other news outlets projected that Biden had won. Instead of conceding, Trump immediately started pressuring local, state and federal officials to overturn the results. Many of these officials rebuffed his demands, concluding they were unethical, illegal or unconstitutional. But some officials and advisers joined the charge and tried to help.

Within weeks, Trump met with and spoke to officials from Michigan and Pennsylvania who were involved in the election process, hoping they’d block Biden’s victory. He fired a senior cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security who publicly debunked his lies about voter fraud. And he cranked up the pressure on the Justice Department, even after Attorney General Bill Barr ordered prosecutors to investigate voter fraud allegations.

He tried — but failed — to stop certification in key states in late November and December. After that, Trump and his allies filed meritless lawsuits across the country seeking to nullify the results.

Trump called Pennsylvania lawmakers, urging them to ignore the fact that Biden won their state and appoint GOP electors instead. He called Georgia’s governor and pushed him to convince state lawmakers there to do the same. These efforts also fell flat, and members of the Electoral College met on Dec. 14, 2020, to officially affirm Biden’s victory.

Running out of time before the transfer of power, Trump became increasingly desperate and even entertained a suggestion to declare martial law. In a now-infamous call on January 2, 2021, Trump pleaded with Georgia’s top election official to “find” enough Republican votes to overtake Biden’s margin. (This phone call is now at the center of a criminal investigation by state prosecutors in Atlanta.)

Trump and his allies repeatedly urged top Justice Department officials to help them overturn the results — and Trump nearly fired the acting attorney general who refused to do his bidding.

Trump also mounted a private and public effort to pressure Vice President Mike Pence into unconstitutionally nullifying Biden’s win while presiding over the Electoral College process.

The coup attempt reached a horrifying crescendo on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump held a massive rally near the White House and incited thousands of supporters to attack the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying the Electoral College results. The insurrection was quelled, but it led to five deaths and 140 police officers were injured. Biden was inaugurated two weeks later.

See a detailed timeline of Trump’s efforts to abuse the Justice Department here.

Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., makes remarks during the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol markup on Wednesday, December 1.

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot will meet soon to formally advance criminal contempt proceedings against former President Trump’s White House chief of staff  Mark Meadows.

There are nine lawmakers on the committee: seven of them are Democrats and two are Republicans.

Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson is the chair of the committee.

Rep. Liz Cheney is the vice chair. She and Rep. Adam Kinzinger are the only two Republicans on the committee. They have defied their party by joining the panel controlled by Democrats, and Cheney even sacrificed her own position in leadership in order to remain vocal and outspoken about the need to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.

Other members are Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin, Elaine Luria, Adam Schiff, Pete Aguilar, Stephanie Murphy and Zoe Lofgren.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows sent an email saying the National Guard would be present to “protect pro Trump people” in the lead up to the US Capitol insurrection, according to a new report released by the January 6 committee Sunday night.

It was just one of several new details in the report about Meadows’ actions before and during January 6, as well as his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

Why this matters: The report is a key component for the committee to send a referral for charges of criminal contempt of Congress to the Justice Department. The panel informed Meadows last week that it had “no choice” but to advance criminal contempt proceedings against him given that he had decided to no longer cooperate with their investigation.

The panel will meet Monday at 7 p.m. ET to formally advance the report to the full floor House vote as soon as later this week. The vote by the full House is the last step before sending the referral to the DOJ.

Meadows’ lawyer asked the panel Monday to reconsider its plans. In a letter to the committee, Meadows’ attorney George Terwilliger III said the “contemplated referral would be contrary to law” because his client is a senior official who made a “good-faith invocation of executive privilege and testimonial immunity.”

“A referral of a senior presidential aide would also be unwise because it would do great damage to the institution of the Presidency, as restraint in the application of the statute over time attests,” Terwilliger wrote.

Read more here.