The House of Representatives special committee investigating the bloody attack on the Washington Capitol on January 6 voted Monday (9-0) in favor of a motion to prosecute, for “contempt” of obstruction of his work, to Mark Mendows, who served as general secretary (“chief of staff”) of the presidency during the days of Donald Trump, because he defied the summons issued to him to appear before it and testify about the facts.
The decision of the seven elected Democrats and the two of the Republicans means that the issue will now be put to a vote in plenary.
Mr. Mendous, as demanded by the stormy former president from his close associates, refuses to cooperate in the investigation.
The 62-year-old is at the heart of the investigation into the events that led Donald Trump’s supporters to invade the Capitol to try to prevent the validation of Joe Biden’s victory in the November 2020 presidential election.
He handed over to the committee official documents, which extend to thousands of pages, emails and SMS, but he rejects any possibility of going to submit.
Mr Mendows’s messages and e-mails reveal that he was “involved in the preparation of the January 6 attack,” MP Jamie Ruskin said earlier in the day, calling for a motion to prosecute him for “obstructing the investigation.” ».
There was virtually no doubt about the outcome of yesterday’s vote, as Benny Thompson, the Democrat who heads the special committee of inquiry, had already said that with his attitude Mark Mendows left her “no other choice”.
The very discreet Mr. Meadows risks being in prison for a few months if he is brought to justice and convicted. His lawyer describes the process as “unfair” and “irrational” and has taken legal action against the so-called “January 6 committee”.
The commission has issued a series of summonses, and has threatened to prosecute many members of Mr. Trump’s entourage with non-compliance, tightening the noose around the former president. Charges have already been leveled against Steve Bannon, one of the architects of the real estate mogul’s election victory in 2016, for defying his summons.
The committee, however, is forced to act hastily, as it wants to make its conclusions public before the midterm elections, which will be held in less than a year, in November 2022. If the Republicans regain control of the US House of Representatives in the upcoming elections. , discounted that they will bury her work, in which Mr. Trump’s followers see – what else – “witch hunt”.
The commission claimed victory last week when a court of appeals ruled that Donald Trump could not invoke his presidential powers to prevent parts of the White House’s official communications file from being handed over to him. The former president has a few more days to appeal to the Supreme Court.
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