Trump’s right-hand man earlier refused to testify before the US House Select Committee claiming he could not discuss issues covered by executive privilege. In response, the panel is preparing charges of criminal contempt against him, the report said.
"Over the last several weeks, Mr. Meadows has consistently sought in good faith to pursue an accommodation with the Select Committee and up until yesterday we believed that could be obtained", the letter from Meadows' attorney George Terwilliger read. "We acted on the belief that the Select Committee would receive, also in good faith, relevant, responsive but non-privileged facts".
The Select Committee has overstepped its authority and pushed past the boundaries to conduct law enforcement investigations or "free-standing 'fact finding' missions," he added.
"It is well-established that Congress’s subpoena authority is limited to the pursuit of a legitimate legislative purpose", Terwilliger said. "Congress has no authority to conduct law enforcement investigations or free-standing 'fact finding' missions".
Former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Reaches Cooperation Deal With Congress' January 6 Committee
30 November 2021, 17:04 GMT
The House Select Committee has rejected Meadows' argument about executive privilege. It said President Joe Biden did not try to use any power of executive privilege to protect Meadows from having to testify, the report said.
Earlier, former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon refused to comply with the committee's subpoena, ending up being indicted for contempt of Congress.
Bannon - and Trump - have characterized the Select Committees' actions as a political witch hunt.