In a significant blow to the January 6th House committee, the Justice Department declined to follow up on its recommendation to charge former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and deputy chief of staff Dan Scovino.

The committee found both in contempt of Congress after they refused to oblige by the panels subpoenas relating to the events at the Capitol on January 6th. It referred the cases to the US attorney in DC hoping to punish the pair for their refusal.

According to NBC News, a DoJ official said the committee has been notified of its decisions, which were based “on the individual facts and circumstances of their alleged contempt.”

The decision to not prosecute Meadows, in particular, is a big blow to the committee.

He was “uniquely situated to provide critical information about the events of January 6” according to the committee’s original subpoena. It was also interested in compelling his cooperation due to him being “with or in the vicinity of Trump” when word of the chaos reached the White House.

“The result speaks for itself,” said George Terwilliger, an attorney for Meadows.

The committee voiced its disappoint in a statement.

“We find the decision to reward Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino for their continued attack on the rule of law puzzling,” it said shortly after the news broke. “We hope the Department provides greater clarity on this matter.”

(Visited 15,386 times, 1 visits today)