House of Representatives Holds Mark Meadows in Contempt for Failure to Cooperate with Investigation into Capitol Robbery

By Dareh Gregorian and Haley Talbot -

WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives voted Tuesday night to refer Mark Meadows, a former White House chief of staff, to the Justice Department on a possible criminal charge against him after he refused to answer questions from the committee investigating the assault on the Capitol on January 6.

Lawmakers approved the measure in a vote that was split between party affiliations, with 222 Democrats in favor and 208 Republicans against.

Meadows, a former member of the House of Representatives from North Carolina, initially turned over numerous documents to the Congressional committee investigating the January 6 riots, but

Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows listens to a press conference from Donald Trump on April 28, 2020 in Washington.Evan Vucci / AP

The panel of lawmakers investigating the January 6 riots voted unanimously Monday night to proceed with the contempt of Congress measure, claiming that Meadows should face criminal charge for defying the panel's subpoena to testify.

The chair of the committee investigating January 6, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, said Meadows' actions left the panel "with no other choice."

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"This is not about any kind of privilege or immunity. It is about Mr. Meadows refusing to comply with the subpoena to discuss the records that he delivered," Thompson said in Tuesday's debate before the House vote. of Representatives.

One of the Meadows documents the panel had been interested in was an email he allegedly sent on January 5

Meadows twice refused to attend hearings that were already scheduled.

The second time was on December 8, the day after he published the book in which he recounted his time as Chief of Staff of former President Donald Trump.

In it, Meadows recounts conversations with Trump and downplays the violence of January 6, when a mob of followers of the former president interrupted the Electoral College vote count, for which there were more than 700 arrests, describing it as the work of "a handful of fanatics ”.

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Meadows' attorney, George J. Terwilliger III, asked the committee not to hold the vote to hold Meadows in contempt, claiming it was "against the law" and said his client "has not stopped cooperating" with the research.

On Monday, the committee revealed unpublished messages sent to Meadows by Fox News anchors Donald Trump Jr. and several lawmakers, in great alarm asking him to tell Trump supporters to withdraw from Congress.

The House of Representatives recently voted to hold former Trump adviser and strategist Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress, after he also challenged the subpoenas.

The Justice Department acted on the recommendation, something it does not do in all cases.

And he charged Bannon with two counts of criminal contempt, for which he could face up to a year in prison and a $ 100,000 fine if convicted.

He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in July.