Schiff says January 6 committee will ‘move quickly’ to refer Mark Meadows for criminal contempt

By Daniella Diaz, CNN

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who also serves on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, said the committee will “move quickly” to refer Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff at the White House, for criminal contempt for not cooperating with its investigation.

“We have been moving very quickly to make these decisions and I’m confident we’ll move very quickly with respect to Mr. Meadows also,” California Rep. Adam Schiff said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But when ultimately witnesses decide, as Meadows has, that they’re not even going to bother showing up, that they have that much contempt for the law, then it pretty much forces our hand, and we’ll move quickly.”

Meadows failed to appear for a deposition on Friday, setting up a potential showdown that could lead to the panel beginning a criminal referral process against him as well.

Schiff also called Steve Bannon’s indictment by the Department of Justice “very positive” news.

“I view this as an early test of whether democracy was recovering. If our law’s to mean anything, it has to be applied equally,” he said. “And so I’m very glad that Justice Department has moved forward in this fashion.”

Bannon, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, was charged with one count related to his refusal to appear for a deposition and another related to his refusal to produce documents. Each count carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, the Justice Department said on Friday.

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