Meadows sues as Jan. 6 panel proceeds with contempt case
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Wednesday sued the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection as the chairman of the panel pledged to move forward with contempt charges against him for defying a subpoena.
The dueling actions laid bare simmering tensions between the committee and Meadows, seen by lawmakers on the panel as a pivotal player in their investigation, and reflected a remarkable turnabout from last week, when Meadows' lawyer had declared his intention of cooperating with the committee on certain areas of their inquiry.
Meadows' lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, asks a judge to invalidate two subpoenas that he says are “overly broad and unduly burdensome." It accuses the committee of overreaching by issuing a subpoena to Verizon for his cell phone records.
“Allowing an entirely partisan select committee of Congress to subpoena the personal cell phone data of executive officials would work a massive chilling of current and future Executive Branch officials’ associational and free speech rights,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint was filed hours after Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee chairman, declared he had “no choice” but to proceed with contempt charges against Meadows, who was subpoenaed more than two months ago and did not show up Wednesday for a scheduled deposition. Meadows' lawyer, George Terwilliger, told the committee on Tuesday that his client was ending his cooperation.
In a letter responding to Terwilliger, Thompson noted that Meadows has already provided documents to the committee, including personal emails and texts about President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, and has also published a book, released this week, that discusses...