Pence votes against holding Mark Meadows in contempt

Rep. Greg Pence

WASHINGTON — Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana, voted against holding former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress after he stopped cooperating with the Jan. 6 Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection.

The House voted 222-208 on Tuesday to hold the former congressman and Trump administration official in criminal contempt, with all but two Republicans voting against the resolution.

The vote is the latest show of force by the Jan. 6 panel, which is leaving no angle unexplored — and no subpoena unanswered — as it investigates the worst attack on the Capitol in more than 200 years, The Associated Press reported.

Pence, a Columbus native, is the brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, who drew the ire of some Trump supporters when he said he did not have the power to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory — including some who were chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” as they forced their way inside the Capitol on Jan. 6.

The vote came after the House earlier voted 229-202 to hold Steve Bannon, a longtime ally and aide to former President Trump, in contempt after defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 Committee.

Rep. Pence was the lone member of the House to not cast a vote on the Bannon resolution.

Hannah Osantowske, a spokeswoman for Pence, said the congressman “had a family medical emergency that he had to attend to, but he would have voted no.”

Bannon was indicted last month by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress.

While Bannon’s case was more clear-cut — he never engaged with the committee at all — Meadows had turned over documents and negotiated for two months with the panel about an interview, according to wire reports. Meadows also has closer relationships within the Republican caucus, having just left Congress last year.

Meadows was also Trump’s top aide in the White House, giving him more plausible grounds to claim executive privilege. Bannon had not worked in the White House since 2017.

The Justice Department will also be weighing those factors as prosecutors decide whether to move forward with the case, according to the AP. If convicted, Bannon and Meadows could each face up to one year behind bars on each charge.

Republicans on Tuesday called the action against Meadows a distraction from the House’s work, with one member calling it “evil” and “un-American,” according to wire reports.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio praised Meadows: “Make no mistake, when Democrats vote in favor of this resolution, it is a vote to put a good man in prison.”

Trump also defended Meadows in an interview, saying: “I think Mark should do what’s right. He’s an honorable man. He shouldn’t be put through this.”

And Meadows’ attorney George Terwilliger defended his client in a statement before the vote, noting that he had provided documents to the panel and maintaining that he should not be compelled to appear for an interview, according to wire reports.

Meadows himself has sued the panel, asking a court to invalidate two subpoenas that he says are “overly broad and unduly burdensome.”

Democrats quoted at length from Jan. 6 text messages provided by Meadows while he was cooperating with the committee.

“We need an Oval Office address,” Donald Trump Jr. texted, the committee said, as his father’s supporters were breaking into the Capitol, sending lawmakers running for their lives and interrupting the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory. “He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”

Trump Jr. added, “He’s got to condemn this s—- ASAP.” In response to one of Trump Jr.’s texts, Meadows said: “I’m pushing it hard. I agree.”

Members of the committee said the texts raise fresh questions about what was happening at the White House — and what Trump himself was doing — as the attack was underway, according to wire reports. The committee had planned to question Meadows about the communications, including 6,600 pages of records taken from personal email accounts and about 2,000 text messages. The panel has not released any of the communications in full.

The investigating panel has already interviewed more than 300 witnesses, and subpoenaed more than 40 people, as it seeks to create the most comprehensive record yet of the lead-up to the insurrection and of the violent siege itself, according to the AP.

If Meadows had appeared for his deposition, lawmakers had planned to ask him about Trump’s efforts to overturn the election in the weeks before the insurrection, including his outreach to states and his communications with members of Congress.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.