Former Donald Trump aide Mark Meadows reportedly avoided criminal contempt charges by volunteering to cooperate with the Jan. 6 committee investigating the Capitol riot.
According to reports, Meadows produced records to the House select committee and will appear at an initial deposition.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson released a statement saying all witnesses, including Meadows, are expected to provide all the information requested and that they are entitled to receive. Following Meadows' deposition, the committee would assess his degree of compliance.
Mark Meadows' attorney George Terwilliger releases statement
Meadows' attorney, George Terwilliger, also released a statement saying they are hoping to get some accommodation from the committee so that his client wouldn't have to testify before Congress.
"As we have from the beginning, we continue to work with the Select Committee and its staff to see if we can reach an accommodation that does not require Mr. Meadows to waive Executive Privilege... We appreciate the Select Committee's openness to receiving voluntary responses on non-privileged topics," he said via the Huffington Post.
However, CNN pointed out that the agreement between Meadows and the House Select Committee could change depending on whether they could agree on the definition of privileged information.
The former Trump aide has not fulfilled his obligations
A source familiar with the process also said that Meadows is cooperating to a certain extent, but this doesn't mean that he has fulfilled his obligations. This shows that he doesn't want to be held in criminal contempt, just like what happened with Steve Bannon.
The latter is charged with two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to testify and turn over documents in response to the committee's subpoenas. Meadows also failed to testify in front of the committee earlier this month, but he and his lawyer are doing damage control.
Meadows previously worked as a chief of staff for Donald Trump. The latter is accused of inciting violence and encouraging his Republican supporters to flock to the US Capitol has been asserting his executive privilege.
Mark Meadows releases new book
Meadows is also releasing a book called "The Chief's Chief," where he will detail his relationship with his former boss.
An excerpt from the book was recently released, and it detailed how Meadows informed Trump that he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 26, 2020. At the time, the ex-POTUS was scheduled to appear in a debate alongside Joe Biden.
Meadows said that Trump was traveling on Air Force One to attend a campaign rally in Pennsylvania when he called to inform him about his positive diagnosis.
The ex-POTUS was reportedly surprised to hear that he tested positive. But a second and more accurate test was later conducted, and it revealed that Trump was hostile for COVID-19.
Even though Trump tested negative, Meadows said that he told all those working closely with the former president to treat him as though he's still positive, according to The Guardian.
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