Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff in the Trump White House who was recently subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, could end up one of the next non-compliant witnesses to have contempt proceedings launched against them. The full House has already approved a finding of contempt against top Trump ally Steve Bannon after he flat-out refused to comply with a subpoena, and that approval entails a referral of the matter to the Justice Department for his potential prosecution. Now, members of the riot investigation committee “are losing patience with the pace of talks with” Meadows, CNN explains, adding that “some are considering whether more aggressive steps are needed to force his compliance in the sweeping probe.”
As explained by CNN, potential options include “officially setting a new deadline for Meadows to comply with the committee’s subpoena or risk being held in criminal contempt.” A source close to the committee told CNN that the panel’s “patience isn’t unlimited, and engagement needs to become cooperation very soon.” Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) had previously stated that Meadows, along with former Defense Department official Kash Patel, who was also subpoenaed, had been “engaging” with the committee, although further details about what exactly that entailed weren’t immediately clear at the time.
Thompson, for his part, told CNN that although the panel isn’t moving towards criminal contempt proceedings against Meadows yet, “If and when the staff says to us it’s not going anywhere, there won’t be any hesitation on the part of the committee to make the referrals.” Predictably, a source with ties to the committee told CNN that it’s becoming “increasingly clear” as time goes on that Meadows has “no real intention” of complying with the panel.
Asked about Meadows last week, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) — another committee member — told reporters that he was sure “that if we reach the conclusion that they’re not operating in good faith, and that if they’re not going to show up, then we will hold them in criminal contempt as we did with Mr. Bannon.” The committee is also investigating the broader efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the presidential election results, and Meadows was involved in that as an emissary of the then-president. Read more at this link.
