Meadows stops cooperating with Jan 6 panel, lawyer cites issue of ‘executive privilege’

Meadows’ attorney says client has already turned over trove of documents related to panel’s request.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows will no longer cooperate with the Democrat-led House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, according to a letter from his attorney.

Attorney George J. Terwilliger II acknowledges in the letter, obtained Tuesday by CNN, that his client has already turned over a trove of documents relevant to the select committee’s request and was willing to voluntarily testify until an apparent disagreement about his protections under executive privilege.

“We agreed to provide thousands of pages of responsive documents, and Mr. Meadows was willing to appear voluntarily, not under compulsion of the select committee’s subpoena to him, for a deposition to answer questions about non-privileged matters,” the letter reportedly reads. “Now actions by the select committee have made such an appearance untenable.

“In short, we now have every indication from the information supplied to us last Friday — upon which Mr. Meadows could expect to be questioned — that the select committee has no intention of respecting boundaries concerning executive privilege.” 

Meadows’ decision to end cooperation is due in part to revelations this past weekend that the committee had issued “wide ranging subpoenas for information from a third party communications provider,” the letter also states. 

However, Terwilliger left open the possibility that his client would answer written questions.

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