Trump's aide may face prosecution for refusing to testify for Capitol Riots
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On Tuesday, lawmakers are set to recommend criminal contempt charges against Trump's aide, Mark Meadows, who refuses to testify for the Capitol Hill assaults.
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Trump's aide, Mark Meadows, may face prosecution.
Donald Trump's former aide, Mark Meadows, is sought after by US lawmakers for refusing to testify for the Capitol Riot assaults.
The lawmakers are set to vote on Tuesday to recommend criminal contempt charges against Meadows, who has recently rejected testifying before the congressional panel which has been investigating the assaults which occurred on January 6, 2021, in Capitol Hill.
This may be the first White House chief of staff to come face-to-face with prosecution since H.R. Haldeman in the Watergate scandal some 50 years back.
In a statement, the January 6 select committee blamed Meadows for this fate: "We've given Mark Meadows every opportunity to cooperate. He's brought this situation on himself."
Meadows served in the White House for 7 years before Trump's assumption of office and is currently defying a subpoena that obliges the official to testify. However, Meadows has been pointing to an "executive privilege" that 'protects' private conversations between presidents and their aides.
However, all that has been slashed by the court of federal appeals, as the privilege is limited to presidents in office in the time being.
The select committee, which comprises of 9 individuals, is probing into text messages and other forms of communications by or with Meadows, particularly those that he has already acknowledged are not privileged.
Investigators say Meadows has given refusing testimonies, as he is promoting a new memoir that includes detailed accounts of January 6 and his conversations with Trump.
Meadows' lawyer, George Terwilliger, said that his client's refusal to cooperate did not amount to non-cooperation, but rather an effort to "honor" Trump's rejected privilege claims.
Text messages, aloud
During a hearing on Monday, frantic and nervous messages sent to Meadows were read out loud from US lawmaker Liz Cheney. The messages were sent during the Capitol assault and were from 3 Fox News hosts, administrative officials, lawmakers, and Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr.
The messages were begging to get Trump to calm down his supporters and end the violence.
"We need an Oval Office address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand," Trump Jr told Meadows.
