Jan. 6 committee threatens to hold Mark Meadows in contempt if he doesn't testify Friday

The House Select Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection is threatening to hold Mark Meadows, former president Donald Trump's chief of staff, in contempt if he doesn't appear for testimony on Friday.

"Simply put, there is no valid legal basis for Mr. Meadows's continued resistance to the Select Committee's subpoena," Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who chairs the committee, wrote in a letter to Meadows' attorney, George Terwilliger III, late Thursday. "As such, the Select Committee expects Mr. Meadows to produce all responsive documents and appear for deposition testimony tomorrow, November 12, 2021, at 10:00 a.m."

Thompson added that the committee would view Meadows' failure to appear or produce requested documents as "willful non-compliance."

"Such willful noncompliance with the subpoena would force the Select Committee to consider invoking the contempt of Congress procedures in 2 U.S.C. §§ 192, 194—which could result in a referral from the House of Representatives to the Department of Justice for criminal charges—as well as the possibility of having a civil action to enforce the subpoena brought against Mr. Meadows in his personal capacity," Thompson wrote.

On Thursday morning, White House Deputy Counsel Jonathan Su sent a letter to Meadows' attorney notifying him that President Joe Biden will not assert executive privilege or immunity over the documents and deposition, the Washington Post reported.

"While he has been 'engaged' with investigators to negotiate the terms of his deposition and turning over of documents, the pace of these discussions has caused the committee to weigh more aggressive measures against him," according to the newspaper. "Terwilliger responded Thursday by saying Biden 'is the first President to make no effort whatsoever to protect presidential communications from being the subject of compelled testimony. Mr. Meadows remains under the instructions of former President Trump to respect longstanding principles of executive privilege. It now appears the courts will have to resolve this conflict.'"