Former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows allegedly said that the National Guard troops would keep Trump’s supporters safe during the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol.
A report released Sunday by the House select committee that is investigating the insurrection recommended that Meadows be held in contempt of Congress.
The report cited an email that Meadows allegedly sent on Jan. 5, a day before the Capitol riot, pertaining to the security of Trump supporters who would soon be flooding Washington, D.C.
The latest claim adds even more to the Trump government’s response to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Capitol Police had appeared to be overwhelmed and caught off guard by the riot, and the National Guard was not quick to respond.
The latest report was released in order to make a claim that Meadows should be held in contempt. It requires a majority of the House of Representatives to produce the citation, and then it would be referred to the Department of Justice.
Last month, Steve Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury. Bannon was a top adviser to Trump. He was indicted on two allegations of contempt of Congress. The first was for refusing to appear for a deposition. The second, for declining to produce documents that the House committee formally requested. His lack of cooperation led to his indictment. He has pleaded not guilty to both.
Both Meadows and Bannon claim that they are completely exempt from the law, saying that they are covered by a blanket interpretation of executive privilege. Executive privilege seeks to protect some communication with the president, in order to allow leaders to respond to crises. The House committee has said that this absolutely does not apply to this situation.
The report continued that the Committee is confident that there is no immunity, and no basis to their wild executive privilege claim, that would bar all of these requests, or justify all of the refusals to cooperate, whether to appear for depositions or to produce documents.
Meadows has failed twice to show up for depositions.
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