In a letter sent Thursday, the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot notified former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that he may face contempt charges if he refuses to testify Friday, as he has indicated he will. The Capitol riot committee has subpoenaed Meadows in its investigation, but Meadows’ lawyer has said the one-time top deputy to former President Donald Trump feels “duty bound” to disregard the request and will follow Trump’s instructions to refuse to appear before the committee. Meadows’ attorney claimed his client is is “immune” from congressional summons. Committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson wrote in the letter, “Mr. Meadows’s conclusion about his duty, however, relies on a misunderstanding of his legal obligations under the subpoena… Simply put, there is no valid legal basis for Mr. Meadows’s continued resistance to the Select Committee’s subpoena.” The House voted to find former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon in contempt in late October, and contempt is “on the table” for Jeffrey Clark, the Justice Department official who attempted to direct the department to pursue Trump’s false claims of election fraud.
