Former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows complies with DOJ’s Jan. 6 probe

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Mark Meadows has answered the Justice Department’s subpoena as part of its Jan 6 investigation.
• The former chief of staff handed over the same documents to the department that he gave to the Jan 6 House committee.
• The panel has criticized Meadows’ involvement in the days leading up to the Capitol attack.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has responded to the Department of Justice’s subpoena for its January 6 probe, according to CNN.

Meadows provided the same information to the department that he handed over to the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack.

Meadows initially complied with the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation last year and handed over more than 2,300 text messages he exchanged with others from the 2020 presidential election day to President Joe Biden’s inauguration.

The panel has scrutinized Meadows’ role and communications in the days leading up to the Capitol insurrection. Cassidy Hutchinson, Meadows’ former top aid eat the time, testified in public before the committee that Meadows was warned in advance that violence could erupt on January 6.

Meadows has refused to cooperate with the committee’s probe and even filed a lawsuit against the committee and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He requested a judge block it from enforcing subpoenas issued to him and Verizon, his cell phone carrier service. The House of Representatives then voted to refer Meadows to the DOJ for contempt of Congress. Ultimately, the DOJ decided not to charge him.

Ben Williamson, one of Meadows’ top deputies, has also received a grand jury subpoena.

Former President Trump has denounced the DOJ investigations as politically motivated but some of his advisers have opted to cooperate. Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputy have also responded to federal subpoenas.

The January 6 insurrection resulted in at least seven people dead and about 140 police officers being injured.

Source: HuffPost