It's being reported that the Justice Department has notified the January 6 Select Committee that it will decline to charge former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino with criminal contempt of Congress. From CNN:
"The decision by the Justice Department is a blow to the House panel's efforts to enforce subpoenas related to its investigation and could embolden other Trump associates facing similar requests to not cooperate. It comes the same day that former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro was indicted for failing to cooperate with the committee.
Unlike Scavino and Meadows, however, Navarro openly defied the committee's request and made no attempt to negotiate terms to comply. And the subpoenas of Meadows and Scavino were complicated.
Both officials served in high-level positions in the Trump West Wing and thus had more compelling cases for claiming executive privilege. Each also made an effort to cooperate with the committee at different points in its investigation. Meadows notably handed over thousands of pages of documents, including text messages that have become an important part of the committee's work."
The fact that they "made an effort to cooperate with the committee," but have refused to sit down and testify under oath about what they heard and saw on January 6 and in the weeks leading up to the insurrection, shouldn't absolve them of their role in the Malignant Loser's coup attempt. The Justice Department also leaned into the "executive privilege" argument by Meadows and Scavino, which in light of the unprecedented attempt to illegally void a free election should have been discounted.
It's possible that the Justice Department is interviewing both Meadows and Scavino under their own investigation of January 6, and have made assurances to them that they would be protected from a criminal contempt charge by Congress if they cooperate. We may not know whether that's the case until and if the Department brings charges against senior members of the Malignant Loser's staff, or the Malignant Loser himself.
(photo: The dynamic duo. Drew Angerer / Getty)
