Photo: The Canadian Press
FILE – White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, October 21, 2020, in Washington. A former White House official told a committee of the House of Representatives investigating the January 6, 2021 uprising in the US Capitol that President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had been notified of intelligence reports showing the potential for violence during that day, according to published transcripts late Friday night, April 22, 2022.
A former White House official told the House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol uprising that President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had been notified of intelligence reports showing potential for violence in that day, according to transcripts released late Friday night.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a special aide at Trump’s White House, told the committee he had “concerns” in Meadows before the uprising, but it was unclear what Meadows had done with the information.
“I only remember Mr. Ornato coming in and saying we have intelligence reports that there could be potential violence on the 6th,” Hutchinson said, possibly referring to Anthony Ornato, a senior Secret Service official. “And Mr. Meadows said, ‘Okay. Let’s talk about it. “
Friday’s submission also reinforced how some Republican members of Congress were deeply involved in discussions in the White House to cancel the election in the months leading up to the deadly riot.
Hutchinson described several talks involving Meadows and members of the far-right Freedom Parliament in late November and early December, in which participants discussed the role of Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, in addition to the ceremonial role he was to play. .
These calls, Hutchinson said, included representatives of Trump’s legal team, including Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, as well as representatives Jim Jordan and Scott Perry.
The statement from the committee came in response to a Meadows lawsuit filed in December in Washington’s federal court against the committee and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The case asked a judge to annul two summonses Meadows had received from the commission, claiming they were “too broad and unnecessarily burdensome”. The lawsuit continued to accuse the commission of overwork, issuing a subpoena to Verizon for the recordings on his cell phone.
Shortly after the complaint was filed, the elected committee sent a charge of contempt to Congress against Meadows in the House of Representatives, where it adopted an almost party vote. This was the first time the chamber had voted out of respect for a former member since 1830.
While an earlier allegation of contempt of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon led to charges, the Justice Department was slow to decide whether to prosecute Meadows.
The criminal case against Meadows is more complex than the one against Bannon, in part because Meadows began cooperating with the commission, even providing documents to the nine-member panel.
Meadows ‘lawyer, George Teruiliger, had previously defended his client, noting that because of Meadows’ willingness to submit recordings, he should not be forced to appear for an interview. Terwilliger did not immediately return an email asking for comment on Friday night.
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