Meadows was warned of violence before Jan. 6, new court documents show


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White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was warned before Jan. 6, 2021, about the threat of violence that day when supporters of President Donald Trump were planning to hold mass at the US Capitol, according to new testimony released Friday night by the House committee investigating the insurrection.

One of Meadows’ top aides, Cassidy Hutchinson, told congressional investigators that she recalled Anthony Ornato, a top Secret Service official who also served as White House political adviser, “coming in and saying we had reports of intelligence that said there could potentially be violence on the 6th. And Mr. Meadows said, “Okay. Let’s talk about it.”

Hutchinson added: “I’m not sure if he … what he did internally with that information.”

Those details were in a filing that argued a federal court should reject Meadows’ claims of executive privilege and force him to appear before the Jan. 6 House committee, which continues to build a case that Trump knowingly misled his supporters. on the election and pushed Pence to break the law in the weeks and hours leading up to the assault.

In the motion, the committee outlines seven “discrete categories of information” on which it seeks to challenge Meadows and argues that his claims of executive privilege should not prevent him from testifying on those matters.

Those categories of information include testimony and documents related to communications with members of Congress; the plan to replace Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark; Trump’s efforts to “direct, persuade, or pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to unilaterally refuse to count electoral votes on January 6”; and activity at the White House “immediately before and during the events of January 6.”

The committee presented new examples of warnings Meadows received prior to Jan. 6, 2021, along with a deeper understanding of his involvement in planning and coordinating efforts to disrupt the counting of electoral college votes in Congress.

The Post obtained hours of video footage, some exclusively, and placed it inside a three-dimensional digital model of the building. (Video: The Washington Post)

Perhaps the most significant new evidence presented by the committee is the testimony of Hutchinson, who told investigators that his boss was briefed “prior to the Jan. 6 proceeding about the potential for violence that day,” according to the filing.

Hutchinson told investigators: “I am aware that there were concerns raised with Mr. Meadows. I don’t know, I don’t want to speculate whether or not they were perceived as genuine concerns, but I do know that people had presented him with information that indicated there could be violence on the 6th.”

Investigators also found evidence that Meadows repeatedly communicated with Republican Representatives Scott Perry (Pennsylvania) and Jim Jordan (Ohio) prior to and on January 6, 2021. Hutchinson identified Perry, Jordan, and Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R- Ga .) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) as the main proponents in Congress “who were floating the idea of ​​the vice president doing more than just counting electoral votes on January 6.”

Asked by investigators if Perry supported the idea of ​​sending people to the US Capitol that day, Hutchinson replied that Perry did, but that members who were present for a planning call before January 6 were “more inclined to follow the guidance of the White House.” ”

Hutchinson also recounted a Dec. 21, 2020, White House strategy meeting prior to voter certification attended by Jordan, Greene, and Reps. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) , Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Other Republican politicians called the meeting, according to Hutchinson’s testimony.

“They felt that he had the authority to, forgive me if my phrase is not correct on this, but to send votes to the States or the voters to the States, more along the lines of the [John] Eastman theory,” Hutchinson said of the meeting, referring to a legal theory put forward by Eastman, a conservative lawyer.



Reference-www.washingtonpost.com

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