Jan 6 Committee Might Consider Aggressive Steps To Force Trump's Chief Of Staff's Compliance

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was subpoenaed last month, and since then the House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 US Capitol riot has reportedly been "engaging" in talks over the terms of him appearing for a deposition and his turning over relevant documents. The slow pace of talks with him has made the committee lose patience.

He was granted a "short" but indefinite postponement of the initial subpoena deadline, but now some of the members of the committee are considering whether aggressive steps need to be taken to force his compliance in the investigation, sources told CNN.

Meadows, one of US President Donald Trump's closest advisers, has unique insight into what the latter knew in the run-up to Jan. 6 attack, and the committee wants to know more about how Meadows helped to overturn last year's presidential election. In his subpoena, it was noted that Meadows had communicated with "the highest officials at the Department of Justice requesting investigations into election fraud matters in several states."

The committee could consider holding him in criminal contempt -- a path it pursued with Stephen Bannon, also one of Trump’s aides. The other option is officially giving a new deadline for him to comply with the subpoena issued by the committee.

A committee source called Meadows a "key witness" in the investigation, and told CNN that their patience isn't unlimited, and "engagement needs to become cooperation very soon."

The committee is yet to reach the point where it needs to take the matter of Meadows' compliance to court, said Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, who chairs the committee. But added that if and when the staff tells them that it's not going anywhere, there "won't be any hesitation on the part of the committee to make the referrals."

According to a source, it's becoming "increasingly clear" that he has "no real intention" of giving testimony or handing over documents to the panel.

Meanwhile, the Jan. 6 committee has postponed its request for documents from the Trump White House despite the records being determined relevant to its investigation by the current White House counsel, reported CNN.

Committee spokesperson Tim Mulvey said Wednesday that the committee has agreed to "defer action on certain records as part of the accommodations process," and that it has not withdrawn its request for those records and "will continue to engage with the executive branch to ensure we get access to all the information" relevant to their investigation.

This comes as Trump tries to muster enough legal leverage to hamper the committee's attempt at having access to documents from his time as the President. On Wednesday, the National Archives announced that it planned to hand over the lengthy documents to Congress by the end of next month. The Archives said that Trump would need a court order to stop it from giving the documents and other records it's processed from Trump presidency, so a court hearing is scheduled for next week.