Government

Jan. 6 Committee Discovers Linear Time, Asks Court To Expedite Mark Meadows Case Before GOP Shuts This Whole Thing Down

Maybe set up a Google calendar alert?

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Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany Briefs Media At White House

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

It seems to have finally occurred to the January 6 Select Committee that they need to get a move on here, since it’s almost summer, after which it will be election season, and then Kevin McCarthy is going to stick a shiv into this whole investigation before it leaks any more embarrassing shit about him and his members.

In December, Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows filed a LOLsuit against the Committee seeking to block subpoenas for his testimony, as well as for his phone records and documents in his possession. Last week, the Committee finally got around to filing a motion to dismiss, pointing out that Meadows has already conceded the point that some of the subpoenaed material is non-privileged by handing over all those embarrassing texts from Fox News hosts, members of congress, and organizers of the pre-riot rally — which kind of undercuts his position that everything he said or did is covered by executive privilege.

And not for nothing, but the DC Circuit, and federal district courts in DC and California have already ruled that Meadows’s objections to the legitimacy of the Committee and its subpoenas are hogwash. Although, to be fair, all of that happened months ago and it only just occurred to the Committee to mention it to Judge Carl Nichols.

But now they’re on it!

Time is of the essence in rectifying Plaintiff’s refusal to comply with the Select Committee’s subpoenas. The House of Representatives is not a continuing body. See Eastland v. U.S. Servicemen’s Fund, 421 U.S. 491, 521 (1975). The current Congress will end on January 3, 2023—just over eight months from now. Prompt resolution of this case is required for the Select Committee to have enough time to investigate fully the matters addressed by the subpoenas and to propose—and for Congress to pass—any legislation that it may deem appropriate in response.

So they’d like to step it up already, please and thank you. Instead of two weeks for Meadows to reply as allowed by the local rules, the Committee is thinking they could get this whole summary judgment thing wrapped up by the end of May.

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“Plaintiff’s counsel has advised that Plaintiff opposes the relief sought herein,” the Committee notes. Which is hardly surprising, since Meadows knows perfectly well that this whole ugliness is going to disappear like magic when and if his fellow Republicans take back the House and make 17 select committees to address Hunter Biden’s laptop, AKA the greatest scandal of our time. So all he has to do is drag it out until January and hope he doesn’t get indicted by Merrick Garland for contempt of congress, and he’s home free.

Judge Nichols has ordered expedited briefing on the motion for expedited briefing, ordering Meadows to tell the court by tomorrow why it should continue to allow this thing to drift along at the even-slower-than-usual pace of the DC Circuit, which is groaning under the weight of a hundred January 6 prosecutions.

So, mazal tov to the Select Committee for finally looking at their calendars and realizing it’s later than they think. But is it too late to force Meadows to comply with a subpoena, since he’s clearly going to litigate this thing all the way up to the Supreme Court?

Guess we’ll find out soon.

Meadows v. Pelosi [Docket via Court Listener]

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Liz Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

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