Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff will no longer cooperate with the Congressional committee investigating the Jan.6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in a turnaround that underscores growing resentment among allies in the United States. former president and lawmakers.
Bennie Thompson, the Democrat who chairs the Jan. 6 select committee, said last month that Mark Meadows had “engaged” with the panel of lawmakers through his lawyer, provided files to the committee and would make a report. deposition following a subpoena to appear before Congress.
But George Terwilliger, Meadows’ lawyer, said on Tuesday that his client would no longer cooperate, accusing the committee of not operating in “good faith”. In a letter sent to Thompson and obtained by the Financial Times, Terwilliger said the committee “had no intention of respecting the limits on executive privilege.”
Terwilliger and a spokesperson for the Jan.6 committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meadows’ U-turn comes as the former chief of staff came under fire from Trump worshipers over an upcoming brief in which Meadows details the then president’s fight with Covid-19. In the book, Meadows reportedly said Trump tested positive for the virus before a televised debate with Joe Biden.
Trump and his allies have sought to invoke “executive privilege,” a legal convention that means some presidential communications are confidential, as a reason for not cooperating with the Jan.6 committee, made up of Democratic lawmakers and just two Republicans: Liz Cheney from Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger from Illinois.
Trump sued the panel in an attempt to block publication of documents relating to his last days in office, while Steve Bannon, another Trump confidante, was indicted by a federal grand jury last month for contempt of Congress after he failed to comply with a subpoena. of the panel of legislators.
It is not yet clear whether Meadows’ case will follow a similar trajectory. Meadows was a Republican congressman from North Carolina before being named Trump’s fourth and final chief of staff.
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