January 6 Committee issues report recommending Mark Meadows be held in contempt of Congress News
MotionStudios / Pixabay
January 6 Committee issues report recommending Mark Meadows be held in contempt of Congress

The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol Sunday issued a report recommending a contempt of Congress charge against Mark Meadows, chief of staff to former President Donald Trump, for failing to comply with the Committee’s subpoena. The January 6 Committee was created by virtue of House Resolution 503 on June 30, 2021.

Initially, Mr. Meadows cooperated with the Committee by providing more than 9,000 pages of records. However, he failed to appear before the Committee to answer additional questions raised by the information contained in the documents he provided. The report states:

Mr. Meadows’s failure to comply, and this contempt recommendation, are not based on good-faith disagreements over privilege assertions. Rather, Mr. Meadows has failed to comply and warrants contempt findings because he has wholly refused to appear to provide any testimony and refused to answer questions regarding even clearly non-privileged information—information that he himself has identified as non-privileged through his own document production.

According to the report, some of the issues about which the Select Committee seeks information are as follows:

  • Mr. Meadows sent an email to a private individual assuring him that the National Guard would be present to protect “pro Trump people” on January 6.
  • Mr. Meadows replied to a message regarding apparent efforts to encourage Republican legislators in certain States to send alternate slates of electors to Congress by saying “Yes. We have a team on it.”
  • Mr. Meadows was allegedly present during a telephone conversation with Georgia State officials wherein Mr. Trump reiterated that he had won Georgia and informed the Georgia Secretary of State that he wanted to ‘‘find’’ enough votes to ensure his victory.
  • Mr. Meadows received an email containing a 38-page PowerPoint presentation with plans to overturn Mr. Biden’s victory.

Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. § 192, the willful refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and imprisonment for up to 1 year.

THIS DAY @ LAW

House Judiciary Committee opened impeachment hearings against Richard Nixon

On May 9, 1974, the US House Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep. Peter Rodino (D-NJ) opened hearings into the possible impeachment of President Richard Nixon in connection with the Watergate scandal. The Committee voted to impeach Nixon on three counts on July 30. Chairman Rodino died in 2005 at his home in New Jersey. He was 95.

Australia Parliament opened

On May 9, 1901, the Parliament of Australia convened for the first time in Melbourne. The Australian Parliament also held its first meeting in the new capital of Canberra 26 years later on the same day 1927. Finally, on this day in 1988 Australian opened its new Parliament House in Canberra. Read the Constitution of Australia.