Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff under former President Donald Trump, is now cooperating with the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the Jan. 6 committee, told CNN on Tuesday that Meadows "has been engaging" with the committee through his attorney. "He has produced records to the committee and will soon appear for an initial deposition," Thompson added.
The news comes after Meadows recently failed to appear for deposition, and Thompson warned this meant the committee would "consider pursuing contempt or other proceedings to enforce" its subpoena. Former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon was indicted on contempt charges earlier this month after not complying with a subpoena from the committee, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told CNN at the time he hoped this would send a "really important message to future invited witnesses, future folks that are subpoenaed" that "you cannot ignore Congress." Both Meadows and Bannon were subpoenad in September, with Thompson writing that Meadows has "critical information" that could shed light on the White House's involvement in "preparing for and responding to the attack on the U.S. Capitol."
Meadows' lawyer, George Terwilliger, told CNN that "we continue to work with the Select Committee and its staff to see if we can reach an accommodation that does not require Mr. Meadows to waive Executive Privilege or to forfeit the long-standing position that senior White House aides cannot be compelled to testify before Congress." A source told CNN, though, that while "it's not incorrect to say he has cooperated to some extent," Meadows "hasn't completely fulfilled his obligation and we need to see what happens."