No statement to the U-Committee: Trump’s ex-chief of staff is backing down

No testimony to the U committee
Trump’s ex-chief of staff backs down

A committee of inquiry wants to investigate the background to the storming of the US Capitol in Washington. The then Chief of Staff of Trump should also make statements. After much back and forth, Mark Meadows decides not to appear before the committee.

Former US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, does not want to work with the committee of inquiry into the storming of the Capitol. Meadows’ attorney, George Terwillinger, accused the committee of disregarding the right to confidentiality of certain information. Under these circumstances, Terwillinger said in a letter to the committee members that his client could not be heard.

After Meadows objected to a summons from the committee, initially with reference to an alleged executive privilege of Trump, an agreement was reached with the committee members last week. Meadows has provided documents and will “appear soon for a first testimony,” said committee chairman Bennie Thompson.

“Now the actions of the special committee have made such a statement untenable,” said Terwilliger. The committee members had requested extensive information from a communications service provider. This shows that the committee has “no intention” to respect the “executive privilege”.

Meadows doesn’t want to volunteer

Meadows argues that the ex-president is allowed to withhold certain information. The Democrats, on the other hand, believe that this privilege exists only for incumbent presidents, not for former presidents. Attorney Terwillinger told CNN that Meadows was ready to answer questions in writing, but had to “decline the opportunity to voluntarily appear for questioning.”

Radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6th, when the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election on November 3rd was to be certified there. The attack, which made headlines around the world, killed five people. The investigative committee set up by the House of Representatives is supposed to clarify the exact background of the attack.

The panel has summoned a number of former Trump employees – including Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon. He had refused to testify before the committee. The House of Representatives then initiated legal action against him.

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