Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, is likely to be accused of showing contempt for Congress. At the same time, frantic text messages are published.
The committee investigating the congressional storm on January 6 voted on Monday to recommend that a criminal case be opened against Meadows. The same move was made against Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon earlier this year. He was then indicted by a federal grand jury.
Meadows has refused to appear as a witness for the committee. He is considered a possible key witness to clarify what the White House knew about the storming of Congress.
For over two months, the committee has been negotiating with Meadows and his lawyer. Meadows, for his part, has sued the investigative committee because they want to prosecute him for refusing to testify in the investigation.
– No matter what kind of legacy he thought he left behind, this is his legacy now. His former colleagues point him to a criminal case because he would not answer what he knows about a brutal attack on our democracy, says Bennie Thompson, the Democrat who is leading the investigation.
The decision to recommend that a criminal case be opened against Meadows was unanimous.
On Monday, the committee also published a series of text messages sent to and from Meadows during the congressional storm. It provides an insight into the hectic communication in Trump’s circle during the incident.
–– He must condemn this shit
Investigators believe they reveal that the White House fully understood what was going on in Congress. Several people, both elected officials, Fox News anchors and Trump’s own son, urged Trump to give a speech and ask the protesters to go home.
– He must lead now. This has gone too far and is out of control. He must condemn this shit right away, wrote Donald Trump Jr. in a message to Meadows.
Republican Liz Cheney, who sits on the committee and has been ostracized by party colleagues for her Trump criticism, says the reports prove Trump’s neglect of duty and that he has long refused to stand up to the violence.
– The messages leave no doubt. The White House knew exactly what was happening, she says.
Several Trump supporters wrote during the incident that what happened was devastating to Trump’s legacy.
– Please get him on TV. It destroys everything you have achieved, wrote Fox News host Brian Kilmeade.
– I’m pushing to make it happen. I agree, Meadows replied.
–– Thought Pence could stop Biden
Among the questions the investigators wanted to ask Meadows was, among other things, whether the White House was trying to influence the National Guard, which has been criticized for having spent a long time moving out to the congressional storm.
In an email Meadows sent to an unidentified person, he writes that the guard would be present to “protect people who are pro-Trump.” In another text message, Meadows writes that Trump believed that Vice President Mike Pence had the power to stop the approval of Joe Biden’s election victory, which Congress had to suspend when the storm occurred.
Pence did not have such power, but only a ceremonial role during the approval.
Meadows was the congressional representative for the Republicans from 2013 to 2020.
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