The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol warned that they are prepared to seek criminal contempt charges against former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows if he fails to appear for his deposition Friday.
In a letter Thursday to Mr. Meadows’ lawyer, George Terwilliger III, committee Chairman Bennie Thompson said Mr. Meadows has no legal standing to ignore the committee’s demands.
“Simply put, there is no valid legal basis for Mr. Meadows’ continued resistance to the Select Committee’s subpoena,” wrote Mr. Thompson, Mississippi Democrat.
The letter followed Mr. Terwilliger’s assertion that Mr. Meadows remained “immune” from the committee’s probe, citing former President Donald Trump’s claims of executive privilege. Mr. Thompson dismissed that claim outright.
“The law requires that Mr. Meadows comply with the subpoena absent an applicable immunity or valid assertion of a Constitutionally based privilege,” Mr. Thompson wrote.
The work of the committee, which is focused on the riot and the events leading up to a pro-Trump mob storming the Capitol, has become a fight over subpoenas and depositions.
The Democratic-run House last month voted to hold former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in criminal contempt after he failed to appear for a deposition before the committee.
Mr. Bannon’s lawyer, Robert Costello, told the panel before his scheduled deposition that his client would not participate. He also cited the former president’s assertion of executive privilege.
The committee made similar threats against former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark after he refused to answer questions during his deposition last week.
Mr. Meadows was subpoenaed by the committee in late September, Mr. Thompson said Thursday that Mr. Meadows has yet to provide documents related to the probe.
Former President Donald Trump has sued federal officials over the release of documents related to the Jan. 6 probe.
Mr. Trump’s legal team said in the lawsuit that the House committee has “no legitimate legislative purpose” for its request. The legal team also continues to press its claim that, as a former president, Mr. Trump enjoys “inherent constitutional rights of privilege.”
Mr. Trump’s request for an injunction was denied by U.S. District Court Just Tanya Chutkan on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump appealed the ruling, and on Thursday a federal appeals court granted Mr. Trump’s emergency motion for an injunction to halt the National Archive’s release of White House records to the committee.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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