By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Mark Meadows is the former chief of staff to President Donald Trump. He could be prosecuted for not cooperating fully in an investigation into the attack at the U.S. Capitol.

The Democratic-led Chamber voted 222 votes to 208. Only two Republicans joined Democrats in recommending the charges against Meadows. Meadows served as a member of the House prior to joining the Republican President’s Administration last year.

Now, the Department of Justice will decide whether or not to press charges. An offense can result in up to one year in prison.

Seven Democrats and two Republicans from the Select Committee, which investigated the attack, voted unanimously Monday night to recommend the House accept its appeal for Meadows’ contempt of Congress accusation.

Only two Republicans backed the resolution to recommend the charges were Liz Cheney (Republican) and Adam Kinzinger (Republican).

Meadows is charged with refusing to testify to a subpoena requesting his testimony on messages and communications he had turned over to the panel.

Cheney, vice-chairwoman of the panel, gave a reading of panicked texts from several lawmakers. Meadows was urged by them to call Trump and urge him to come to public. These texts emerged during an investigation by the Select Committee.

He must immediately condemn the shit. Trump Jr.’s son Donald Jr. wrote in one text that they needed an Oval Office address. Other conservative media hosts also made the same private pleas for Meadows, before playing down violence on air.

Cheney declared that the American people deserve to be informed about all the actions Donald Trump and his supporters took in order to influence the election results.

Trump claimed at Jan. 6, that his defeat in November 2020 by Democratic President Joe Biden was due to widespread fraud. He urged supporters to march to the Capitol, as Congress assembled to confirm Biden’s win. Biden was inaugurated on January 20.

The riot left four dead and one Capitol Police officer with injuries from defending Congress. Over 100 police officers were hurt during Trump’s multi-hour assault, while four other officers took their lives.

Two right-wing groups were sued by Washington Tuesday for their financial losses in connection to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

“EVERYBODY’S LIFE WAS ENDANGERED”

Republican Representative Tom Cole claimed it was premature to make a contempt recommendation. This is despite Trump’s lawsuits and Meadows’ own arguments that communications of the ex-president should be protected under executive privilege, and that subpoenas from committees are too wide.

Cole declared that today’s actions were “wildly premature”. Cole was among the many Republicans that voted against Biden’s certification of election Jan. 6, just hours after the attack on the Capitol.

The chairman of the Select Committee Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson stated that lawsuits were seen by the panel as delays. He said that if a witness violates the law it is more than just obstructing the investigation. It’s also an attack upon the rule of the law.” He was urging support for Meadows’ resolution.

George Terwilliger (the attorney for Meadows) stated in Tuesday’s statement that Meadows had continued to cooperate.

Terwilliger explained that Terwilliger maintained repeatedly that he was not compelled to testify as the ex-chief of staff and that he, as a witness, is not authorized to waive executive privilege as claimed by former presidents.

Trump’s request for withholding documents under executive privilege was rejected by the federal appeals court. Biden has, however, authorized them to be released.

“Both branches agree that there is a unique legislative need for these documents and that they are directly relevant to the Committee’s inquiry into an attack on the legislative branch and its constitutional role in the peaceful transfer of power,” the court said.

Meadows could be charged with criminal contempt. At the request of the House, similar charges were brought by Justice Department against Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon. Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official is under consideration by the House.