The House began debate Tuesday on recommending criminal contempt charges against former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Washington – The House on Tuesday debated recommending criminal contempt charges against former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows after he ceased cooperating with the Jan.6 Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection. If approved, it would be the first time the House had voted to hold a former member in contempt since the 1830s, according to the chamber’s records. Back before he left Congress to join President Donald Trump’s administration, Meadows “continually insisted that people and high-ranking government officials respect the authority of Congress to do its job, and investigative powers are implicit in and intertwined with our powers to legislate this,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, a member of the committee, said on the chamber floor. Raskin began Tuesday’s debate by reading frantic texts from the day of the attack revealing members of Congress, Fox News anchors and even Trump’s son urging Meadows to persuade the outgoing president to act quickly to stop the siege by his supporters. The committee voted 9-0 Monday night to recommend charges against the former North Carolina congressman who left in March 2020 to become Trump’s chief of staff. Approval by the full House would refer the issue to the Justice Department, which would decide whether to prosecute. Republicans on Tuesday called the action against Meadows a distraction from the House’s work, with one member calling it “evil” and “un-American.” Trump also defended Meadows in an interview with The Associated Press, saying, “I think Mark should do what’s right. He’s an honorable man. He shouldn’t be put through this.” Meanwhile, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told reporters “I do think we’re all watching, as you are, what is unfolding on the House side. And it will be interesting to reveal all the participants who were involved.” He added that he was not in contact with Meadows on the day of the attack. Democrats quoted at length from Jan.6 text messages provided by Meadows while he was cooperating with the committee. “We need an Oval Office address,” Donald Trump Jr. texted, the committee said, as his father’s supporters were breaking into the Capitol, sending lawmakers running for their lives and interrupting the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
