US lawmakers investigating the January Capitol riot say they will hold former Trump chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in criminal contempt.
Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (centre) arrives at former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial in the Senate on 9 February, 2021 in Washington, DC. Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images via AFP
The House Select Committee said it had "no choice" but to seek charges over his refusal to comply with its inquiry.
Meadows had previously provided the bipartisan panel with information, but said this week he would not co-operate.
On Wednesday, he sued the committee members, seeking to nullify subpoenas they issued.
The suit alleges that "overly broad and unduly burdensome" subpoenas sent to Meadows violate legal protections for senior advisers to a president, and charge the committee with using excessively broad subpoenas to obtain his phone records.
Meadows will be the third ex-Trump aide to be held in contempt by the panel.
In a letter sent to Meadows on Tuesday, committee chairperson Bennie G Thompson objected to Meadows' argument that the information lawmakers wanted from him was protected by executive privilege - a legal principle that protects many White House communications from being shared.
"There is no legitimate legal basis for Mr Meadows to refuse to cooperate with the Select Committee," wrote Thompson, who is a Democratic representative for Mississippi.
Meadows had said initially he would appear before the House panel this week, and had already provided the committee with some 6000 pages worth of documents, including messages from his personal phone.
In one exchange from 6 November 2020, Meadows discussed appointing alternate electors (people who cast the official votes for president) in certain states, which effectively undermined some of the presidential election results.
"I love it," Meadows wrote in a message to a Congress member.
Also included in the text messages is an exchange "between Meadows and an organiser of the January 6th rally", Thompson wrote.
But after the committee said they would file formal criminal contempt charges, Meadows filed a lawsuit against Thompson, Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and the panel of seven Democrats and two Republicans.
Meadows' about-face comes during the release of his memoir, which includes revelations about his former boss, particularly about the time former US president Donald Trump had Covid-19. The disclosures have reportedly angered the former president.
In his book, Meadows wrote that Trump was "mortified" by the events of 6 January.
Trump had urged his former aides to reject any requests to testify in front of the House panel, claiming executive privilege exempts them from cooperation.
The House committee will next vote to hold Meadows in contempt. If the House of Representatives upholds with charge, the case will be referred to the Justice department, which has the final say on bringing charges.
-BBC