Jan. 6 Committee Rips DoJ Failure to Indict Trump Insiders Meadows and Scavino: Rewards ‘Continued Attack On The Rule Of Law’

House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney blasted the Justice Department’s decision not to indict former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Trump Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, calling it a “reward” for their “continued attack on the rule of law.”

In a press release, Thompson and Cheney praised the indictment of Peter Navarro, but pulled no punches about the failure to indict Meadows and Scavino:

While today’s indictment of Peter Navarro was the correct decision by the Justice Department, we find the decision to reward Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino for their continued attack on the rule of law puzzling. Mr. Meadows and Mr. Scavino unquestionably have relevant knowledge about President Trump’s role in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the events of January 6th. We hope the Department provides greater clarity on this matter. If the Department’s position is that either or both of these men have absolute immunity from appearing before Congress because of their former positions in the Trump Administration, that question is the focus of pending litigation. As the Select Committee has argued in District Court, Mark Meadows’s claim that he is entitled to absolute immunity is not correct or justified based on the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel Memoranda. No one is above the law.

Navarro was indicted Friday for criminal contempt of Congress, but The New York Times reported that the Justice Department decided not to move against Meadows and Scavino:

The Justice Department has declined to take similar steps against Mr. Meadows, Mr. Trump’s final chief of staff, and Mr. Scavino, the deputy chief of staff, according to people familiar with prosecutors’ decision and a letter reviewed by The New York Times informing the top House counsel of it.

…

Both Mr. Meadows and Mr. Scavino — who were deeply involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 election — engaged in weeks of negotiations with the committee’s lawyers, and Mr. Meadows turned over more than 9,000 documents to the panel, before the House voted to charge them with contempt.

By contrast, Mr. Navarro and his ally Stephen K. Bannon, who has also been charged with contempt, fought the committee’s subpoenas from Day 1 and never entered into negotiations.

The Jan. 6 committee will begin public hearings on Thursday.

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