Meadows hires former deputy AG to represent him in Jan. 6 probe: report

Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has reportedly hired former Deputy Attorney General George Terwilliger to represent him in the House select committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Politico reported Wednesday that Terwilliger, who served in the George H. W. Bush administration, will represent Meadows in the Jan. 6 probe as the House panel ramps up its investigation, citing two people familiar with the matter.

A CBS News reporter previously tweeted that Terwilliger had been retained to represent Meadows.

As the Jan. 6 select committee @January6thCmte demands docs and testimony from Mark Meadows, I’m told the former WH chief of staff is being represented by former Deputy Attorney General George Terwilliger

— Ellis Kim (@elliskkim) October 8, 2021

Terwilliger spent 15 years at the Department of Justice (DOJ), at one point serving as deputy attorney general under former Attorney General William Barr, who again led the DOJ during the Trump administration. Terwilliger later served a brief tenure as acting attorney general.

The Hill reached out to Terwilliger and Meadows for more information.

Meadows’s move to retain Terwilliger as his attorney comes as other close allies of former President Trump are defying subpoenas in the Jan. 6 probe.

The House committee subpoenaed Meadows and three other ex-Trump advisers last month, requesting documents and testimony related to the attack on the Capitol and protests on that day.

Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the chair and vice chair of the panel, announced in a statement earlier this month that Meadows is “engaging” with the committee. The committee, however, has not offered any additional details regarding his contact with the lawmakers.

In a letter to the former chief of staff last month, Thompson said an investigation revealed “credible evidence” of his involvement with the events that are within the scope of the panel’s inquiry.

“You were the President’s Chief of Staff and have critical information regarding many elements of our inquiry,” Thompson wrote.

“It appears that you were with or in the vicinity of President Trump on January 6, had communications with the President and others on January 6 regarding events at the Capitol, and are a witness regarding activities of that day. Moreover, it has been reported that you were engaged in multiple elements of the planning and preparation of efforts to contest the presidential election and delay the counting of electoral votes,” Thompson added.

The deadline for Meadows to comply with the subpoena, which was initially set for Oct. 15, has since been postponed, according to CNN.

News of Meadows retaining a top GOP lawyer comes as the select committee is gearing up for a fierce legal fight to get former Trump White House strategist Stephen Bannon to comply with the panel’s subpoena.

The panel voted unanimously on Tuesday to hold Bannon in criminal contempt for not comply with his subpoena.

On Wednesday, the House Rules Committee advanced the contempt resolution to the full chamber, which will hold a vote on Thursday. If approved, it will move to the Justice Department.