Former Trump Chief of Staff Ends Cooperation With US House January 6 Committee - Lawyer

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2021) Mark Meadows, who had been cooperating with the US House Select Committee investigating the events at the Capitol on January 6, will no longer make himself available to the panel, his lawyer George Terwilliger said on Tuesday.

"Over the last several weeks, Mr. Meadows has consistently sought in good faith to pursue an accommodation with the Select Committee and up until yesterday we believed that could be obtained," Terwilliger said in a letter to Select Committee Chair Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney.

That cooperation has ended because of concerns about the ability of Meadows, who served as President Donald Trump's chief of staff, to claim executive privilege when the panel indicated that it planned to investigate privileged subjects, Terwillinger said.

The Select Committee has overstepped its authority and pushed past the boundaries to conduct law enforcement investigations or "free-standing 'fact finding' missions," he added.

Meadows is not the first person from the Trump administration to refuse to comply with with the Select Committee's subpoenas. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon also chose not to appear before the panel and was indicted for contempt of Congress. Bannon - and Trump - have characterized the Select Committees' actions as a political witch hunt.