House votes to hold Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress

Following the Jan. 6 committee’s criminal contempt referral and the full House vote today, it is now up to the Justice Department to decide if it will pursue criminal charges against ex-President Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted a picture tonight of the enrollment of the Meadows contempt resolution.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows speaks with reporters in this file photo from Oct. 26, 2020.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has now become the second Trump insider to be referred to the Justice Department for criminal contempt of Congress.

The House voted to refer a contempt of Congress against former White House advisor Steve Bannon in late October. Bannon was indicted by the Justice Department a month later, and pleaded not guilty.

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.

More on tonight’s vote: The full House vote came after the House select committee unanimously voted in favor Monday of holding Meadows in contempt of Congress for failing to appear for a deposition with the select committee. Now it is up to the Justice Department to decide if it will pursue criminal charges against ex-President Trump’s former chief of staff.

Meadows has consistently insisted he wants to shield some of his conversations with the former President under claims of executive privilege but has already handed over thousands of documents which the panel says only adds to the need for him to testify.

But so far, Meadows has refused to do so and his defiance is at the core of Tuesday’s vote to refer him on criminal charges.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), vice-chair of the select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) listen during a committee meeting on Capitol Hill on December 1, in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Two Republicans who sit on the Jan. 6 select committee, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, voted with Democrats to refer former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the Department of Justice for criminal contempt of Congress.

The vote was 222-208.

But seven Republicans who voted for the Steve Bannon contempt resolution – Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler, Brian Fitzpatrick, Nancy Mace, Fred Upton, Peter Meijer, John Katko and Anthony Gonzalez – did not vote for the Meadows resolution.

The Jan. 6 committee approved a criminal contempt report against Bannon in October after he refused to comply with a subpoena deadline.

Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff, speaks to members of the media outside of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. (Chris Kleponis/Polaris/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

The House voted 222-208 to refer former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the Department of Justice on criminal charges for failing to appear for a deposition with the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.

Two Republicans who sit on the select committee, Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, voted with Democrats in favor of the referral.

Today’s House vote comes one day after the panel unanimously voted in favor of holding Meadows in contempt of Congress.

The chamber’s vote, despite being pushed through by a Democratic majority, marks a significant moment in the Jan. 6 investigation given Meadows’ role as Trump’s chief of staff and his intimate knowledge of efforts to overturn the 2020 election. 

Meadows is the second Trump insider to be referred to the Justice Department for criminal contempt of Congress. The House voted to refer a contempt of Congress against former White House advisor Steve Bannon in late October. Bannon was indicted by the Justice Department a month later, and pleaded not guilty.

What happens next: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will need to certify 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.

CNN’s Paul LeBlanc contributed reporting to this post. 

The House is now voting to refer former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to the Department of Justice for criminal contempt of Congress charges.

This vote requires a simple majority of 218 to pass.

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol released new text messages obtained from former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that were sent to him in the days leading up to the insurrection and while the Capitol was under siege.

The messages were read by committee members on the House floor Tuesday during debate over referring a criminal contempt of Congress against Meadows to the Justice Department. They included messages from a Georgia government official sent to Meadows while then-President Trump was on the phone with Georgia’s secretary of state urging him to “find” votes for Trump, as well as discussions of Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden.

The committee also released a text Meadows sent to a member of Congress detailing Trump’s views about Vice President Mike Pence and state legislatures trying to overturn the election result.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat on the select panel, read a text message from an unnamed Georgia government official sent to Meadows during the Jan. 2 call.

Rep. Adam Schiff, another California Democrat on the committee, read a text from an unknown number that applauded the potential appointment of Jeffery Clark to be acting attorney general while Trump tried to get the Justice Department to support his false claims of election fraud. Clark was one of the big proponents at the DOJ who was pushing to use the power of the department to investigate unfounded claims of voter fraud, but he was rebuffed by the department’s leaders.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, a California Democrat, referenced a text message Meadows sent to an unspecified member of Congress on Jan. 3 about whether Pence could overturn the election when he presided over the Jan. 6 congressional certification of the Electoral College results. The text was previously mentioned in the committee’s report on Sunday.

In another text message from Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the election, a member suggested to Meadows an “aggressive strategy” for Republican-led state legislatures to “just send their own electors” to Congress and let the Supreme Court decide who won the election.

Another text message from a member to Meadows underscored how the committee has not received everything from the former White House chief of staff.

More on the messages: The Jan. 6 committee members did not identify who sent Meadows the messages they revealed Tuesday, but they argued that the messages were part of a litany of evidence showing how Meadows was in contempt of Congress after he reversed his decision to cooperate with the committee’s investigation.

“Mr. Meadows received numerous text messages, which he has produced without any privilege claim, imploring that Mr. Trump take specific action we all know his duty required,” said Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, one of two Republicans on the select committee. “Indeed, some of those text messages, madam speaker, came from members in the chamber right now.”

Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the select committee’s chairman, told CNN on Tuesday the panel will “make a decision within a week or so when to release” the names of the authors of the texts to Meadows. At this point, he added, the panel had only identified House members who had sent their former House colleague text messages, and not Republican senators.

The House is set to vote soon on whether former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows should be referred to the Department of Justice on criminal charges for failing to appear for a deposition with the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.

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.

Here are key things to know as we await a vote:

What the committee did Monday: The panel unanimously voted in favor of holding Meadows in contempt of Congress, and it is now up to the full House to vote on whether it will ask the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges against ex-President Donald Trump’s former chief of staff.

What criminal contempt means: 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.

What both sides are saying: Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, said on Tuesday that as “White House chief of staff, Mr. Meadows played a role in or was witness to key events leading up to and including the January 6th assault on the United States Capitol.” Thompson noted that the select committee’s report “referring Mr. Meadows for criminal contempt charges is clear and compelling.”

Meadows’ attorney issued a new statement Tuesday ahead of the full House vote saying that his client is still cooperating with the committee in some ways, but maintained he cannot be compelled to appear for questioning as he is not “licensed to waive Executive Privilege” claimed by Trump.

Meadows “has fully cooperated as to documents in his possession that are not privileged and has sought various means to provide other information while continuing to honor the former president’s privilege claims,” his attorney George J. Terwilliger III said in a statement.

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the vice chair of the select committee, said Tuesday that Meadows had received numerous text messages urging Trump to take action to stop the riot that he has produced without any privilege claim.

Read more about tonight’s House vote here.

CNN’s Paul LeBlanc contributed reporting to this post.

During the House floor debate, Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland who serves on the Jan. 6 panel, revealed another text message sent by an unnamed lawmaker to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that shows some members were advocating an “aggressive strategy” that suggested Republican-controlled state legislatures “just send their own electors” and let the Supreme Court decide who won the election.

Watch: 

Rep. Pete Aguilar, a member of the Jan. 6 committee, read a text that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows sent to a lawmaker regarding the role then-Vice President Mike Pence might play during the certification of the November election. 

Aguilar read the text during remarks as part of the debate over the resolution to refer Meadows for criminal contempt.

The text was previously mentioned in the committee’s report on Sunday.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly characterized the text Aguilar read during the House floor debate as new. The text was mentioned in the committee’s report on Sunday.

During his remarks as part of the debate over the resolution to refer former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for criminal contempt, Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat on the Jan. 6 committee, revealed a new text that Meadows received from an unknown sender that applauded the appointment of Jeffery Clark to the Department of Justice.

Clark was one of the big proponents at the DOJ who was pushing to use the power of the department to investigate unfounded claims of voter fraud.

An effort, his bosses at the department turned back. 

Schiff argued the tone of this text demonstrates how important it is for the committee to learn more about his role on the days leading up to Jan. 6.

“Mr. Meadows is a central participant and witness to the events of January 6, at the tip of the spear, if he can get away with ignoring the law. If witnesses summoned before Congress can merely pick and choose when they comply. Our power of oversight will be gone,” Schiff said.

Members of the January 6 committee are reading more of Mark Meadows’ text messages before a House vote to hold him in contempt of Congress.

During her remarks, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat on the select panel, revealed new texts that Meadows received from a Georgia election official on Jan. 2.

The text came during a phone call that Meadows was a part of that featured former President Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

According to Lofgren, the texts from the official, who she did not name, read:

“Need to end this call”

and

“I don’t think this will be productive for much longer”

Lofgren said the committee needs to talk to Meadows about his role in that conversation and the text exchange.

“We need also to ask him about text messages which he provided to our committee. That show an official in Georgia texting Mr. Meadows during the Trump wraps and the Raffensperger call,” she said.

Watch: 

Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the Jan. 6 select committee, said on the House floor this afternoon that the vote to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows “relates principally to his refusal to testify about messages and other communications that he admits are not privileged.” 

Cheney said that Meadows’ testimony on specific topics that the committee wishes to question him on “is required and compelled by our subpoena.”

For example, Cheney pointed to text messages that Meadows received on Jan. 6 from members of the House and Trump administration officials imploring him to get former President Trump to “take the specific action we all know his duty required” to stop the siege on the Capitol. 

Cheney continued: “Mr. Meadows received numerous text messages which he has produced without any privilege claim, imploring that Mr. Trump take the specific action we all know his duty required. Indeed, some of those text messages…came from members in the chamber right now. Members who understood that a violent assault was underway at the capitol. Members who pleaded with the chief of staff to get the president to take action. Dozens of texts, including from Trump administration officials and members of Congress urged that the President take immediate action.”

She then read some of the texts:

Cheney added that all of these texts are “nonprivileged” and messages “that Mr. Meadows has turned over” to the committee.

“And they are evidence of President Trump’s supreme dereliction of duty for 187 minutes,” Cheney said.

The House has now begun debate to refer former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the Department of Justice for criminal contempt of Congress charges.

Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee and a Republican from Wyoming, is speaking on the House floor.

Members of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol voted Monday night to formally advance the criminal contempt report against Meadows.

What’s at stake: If the full House vote succeeds, Speaker Nancy Pelosi certifies the report to the United States attorney for the District of Columbia. 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. 

Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the select committee, told CNN they will “make a decision within a week or so when to release” the names of the authors of the texts to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Jan. 6.

He said they felt it was “important” to first put the content out before releasing the names.

Asked if there were any senators who were texting Meadows on Jan. 6, Thompson revealed that “at this point, it is just House members.”

He also said they would likely give notice to the GOP members before they take any action.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell walks to a weekly GOP policy luncheon on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, December 14.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN that he did not speak to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Jan. 6 about former President Trump’s inaction.

Meadows’ texts with members of Congress and others on Capitol Hill that day were released yesterday by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot.

McConnell also expressed interest in what else the committee will discover in a break with House Republican leadership, which has dismissed the committee’s work as purely political.

McConnell said he “was not,” in contact with Meadows or other White House officials, and added, “I do think we’re all watching, as you are, what’s unfolding on the House side, and it will be interesting to reveal all the participants that were involved.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that it was disappointing but not surprising to see prominent Republicans and conservatives privately texting their concerns to Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows during the Jan. 6 insurrection. 

“Well it’s disappointing and, unfortunately, not surprising that some of the very same individuals who were willing to warn, condemn and express horror over what happened on January 6th in private were totally silent in public; or, even worse, were spreading lies and conspiracy theories, and continued to since that time,” Psaki said during a press briefing when asked for a reaction to the texts unveiled by the Jan. 6 committee – which included correspondence from Republican lawmakers, Trump’s eldest son and Fox News hosts urging Meadows to push Trump to condemn insurrectionists’ actions.

More background: CNN previously reported that the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack unanimously voted in favor of holding Meadows in contempt of Congress on Monday night, and it is now up to the full House to vote on whether it will ask the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges against Trump’s former chief of staff.

The texts were read Monday night as the panel met to advance its referral of Meadows to DOJ on the criminal contempt of Congress charge. Meadows did not address the text messages while discussing the committee’s vote with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday night, similarly telling the host, “Obviously, it’s disappointing, but not surprising.”

Donald Trump’s son, Fox news personalities and lawmakers texted Mark Meadows on Jan. 6, imploring the then-White House chief of staff to get the then-President to stop the riot at the Capitol just one of the explosive new details relayed by the House select committee investigating the attack as it met on Monday to advance referring Meadows to the Justice Department on a criminal contempt of Congress charge.

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.

Cheney made the motion for the committee to vote for the contempt resolution. The vote in the nine-member committee was unanimous.

The contempt resolution is expected to come to the House floor for a vote on Tuesday.

In his opening remarks during Monday’s meeting, the committee’s chair, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, took the opportunity to highlight the committee’s progress and paint Meadows, as well as a handful of other Trump allies who continue to defy the panel, as outliers.

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.

“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.

“As the violence continued, one of the President’s sons texts Mr. Meadows, ‘He’s got to condemn this ASAP. The capitol police tweet is not enough,’ Donald Trump Jr. texted. Meadows responded, ‘I am pushing it hard. I agree.’”

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 Rules Committee voted 8-4 to advance a contempt of Congress resolution against former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to the House floor for debate and a vote, which is expected to happen this afternoon.

The vote was along party lines. 

The committee is now adjourned.

House Republican leadership is recommending its members vote “no” on the Jan. 6 committee’s referral for charges of criminal contempt against former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the Department of Justice.

The House will hold a vote today to advance the committee’s referral.

In a memo from Republican Whip Steve Scalise, leadership outlined why they believe it is “inappropriate for Congress to find Mr. Meadows in contempt and refer him for prosecution.”

Here’s a look at what they said in the email:

“This resolution finds Mark Meadows, a former Member of the House of Representatives and Chief of Staff to the President of the United States, in contempt of Congress for allegedly failing to respond to a subpoena issued by the Select Committee and refers him to the Department of Justice for prosecution.