Still, the 5th Amendment confers no blanket “testimonial immunity.” The right must be asserted question by question. That could potentially subject him to multiple criminal charges, including seditious conspiracy. The Select Committee’s Sunday report contains evidence showing that Meadows was likely up to his ears in trying to arrange to overturn the election. The right to remain silent spared them the duty to assist in any wrongful arrest and trial. With McCarthy’s anticommunist crusade running amok, even the innocent justifiably feared they would end up as criminal defendants. Delivering on that pledge will be difficult. Peter Funt: Biden pledged to unify, not divide. History reminds us that in the 1950s, Wisconsin Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy unleashed red baiting against public figures and private citizens alike. This former prosecutor honors 5th Amendment rights – so long as they are invoked in good faith and not to evade questions where it has no bearing. Recall President Donald Trump’s 2017 query, “If you're innocent, why are you taking the 5th Amendment?” Meadows’ lawyer avoided those words, which could invite the public to think that by invoking 5th Amendment rights, he was admitting guilt. In Terwilliger’s Monday letter to the committee, he called contempt inappropriate given Meadows’ “testimonial immunity.” That is a lawyer euphemism for his 5th Amendment right not to provide answers that might tend to incriminate him. Phil Waldron, who was working with Trump’s lawyers, apparently circulated the PowerPoint. Waldron reportedly met with White House personnel multiple times. While Meadows held a copy of the presentation, there are no reported emails from him telling Waldron to stop the insurrectionist talk.Īlso among House-released Meadows’ documents was a text from Donald Trump Jr., indicating that Meadows was “pushing hard” after the violent insurrection started for Trump to issue a statement to “condemn this s-.” Understanding the Fifth Amendment It described strategies for overturning the election, including “declaring a national security emergency and seizing paper ballots,” according to The Washington Post.įormer Army Col. Then there was a PowerPoint presentation Meadows gave the committee. Jill Lawrence: The real disarray: Republicans imploding over Trump loyalty tests and outrageous behavior While the Capitol attack was happening, one lawmaker texted, “The president needs to stop this ASAP.” Wrote another, “It is really bad up here.” Hannity urged Meadows to “ask people to leave the Capitol.”
They demonstrate the alarm with which even staunch Trump supporters like Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham viewed the violent insurrection, along with Republican congressional representatives. 6 that Meadows had supplied the committee. 6 committee member Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., read aloud hair-raising texts from Jan. The committee has questions about the three-hour delay between the Capitol Police's urgent request for Guard support and their arrival at the Capitol, which had been overrun by pro-Trump storm troopers. 5 email told the recipient, whose identity is unclear, that the National Guard was on standby to “protect pro-Trump people,” according to the panel.
He handed over thousands of subpoenaed documents, veins of gold among them.
Back in November, Meadows began cooperating with the committee.