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credit: P. Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune Wackydoodle sez: He also claims DO's and temporary insanity! |
More: The Select Committee voted today, 9-0, to refer Mark Meadows to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress. The move came after Meadows, former chief of White House staff and South Carolina congressman, engaged in dilatory tactics, and more evidence of his involvement in the coup attempt became clear.The Committee is in possession of messages from inside the Capital asking Meadows to get the former guy to call off the riot taking place. Meadows coordinated with rally planners who brought thousands of protestors, some of whom were armed to Washington DC. The NYT reports,At one point, an organizer of the rally turned to Mr. Meadows for help, telling him that things “have gotten crazy and I desperately need some direction. Please.” His response to the plea is unknown at this point in the investigation. Another message from Meadows indicates his support for the coup plan outlined by attorney Eastman:“Yes,” he wrote in one message about appointing a slate of pro-Trump electors and refusing to certify Mr. Biden’s victory. “Have a team on it.” His criminal referral now goes to the House Rules Committee and a floor vote in the House. It is expected that he will be formally referred to the DOJ for prosecution.
Update: {10.12.21}The Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that Trump's claims of executive privilege are invalid and that the Select Committee may access his records from the National Archives. The ruling was emphatic and destroyed any argument that the Committee does not have a valid legislative purpose for issuing subpoenas. Plotters have been hiding behind this bogus assertion for months, obstructing the Insurrection investigation. Trump's lawyers will certainly appeal to the Supreme Court, and a stay is in place until that Court denies certiorari or hears the case. In the latter circumstances the Committee will not obtain the White House records it needs until well into next year. Tick, tock goes the clock.
Mark Meadows rope-a-dope tactics continue to produce delays, despite Select Committee members telling the media they will not stand for dilatory tactics by subpoened witnesses. Meadow's attorney announced this week that his client's "cooperation" with the Insurrection investigation will cease before it substantially started because the Committee has subpoenaed third parties for communication records of White House aides including Meadows. Apparently, Meadows is concerned that those records may incriminate him and his former boss in the federal criminal offense of seditious conspiracy. Meadows and other senior Trump administration figures routinely used private mobile phones and email accounts in violation of federal record-keeping laws.
The Committee should give up on any hope of getting Meadows to flip on Herr Trumpillini, if that was the rationale for its lenient response to his charade. Nota bene: Meadow's subpoena duces tecum was issued on September 23rd! His PR campaign has only one objective: further delay of the Committee's proceedings in accordance with his leader's instructions. Meadows continues to insist on non-existent executive privilege. The current administration has repeatedly waived any assertion of that privilege, which is controlled by the sitting president not a former occupant. In a letter sent to Meadow's attorney last month, White House deputy counsel Jonathan Su informed him that President Biden would not be asserting any privileges or immunities over anything requested by the committee. Prosecution of Meadows for contempt of Congress will put a conclusive end to the plotters' bogus claims by forcing judicial review of the issue probably all the way to the Supreme Court.
It appears from a letter issued by Chairman Thompson to Meadow's attorney that the Select Committee is moving forward on filing contempt charges against him. In his letter Rep. Thompson referred to several communications already provided by Meadows in which he discussed plans for the J6 Insurrection. In one text message Meadows told a GOP Congress member that he "loved" the idea of overturning the election results and in another he discussed plans for "a direct and collateral attack" on the election. Clearly, any possible claim of privilege has been waived as to those communications. The clock is ticking, Mr. Chairman...
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| credit: K. Siers; BC Idonwanna sez: Careful, its poisonous! |