After what appear to be a series of fruitless and time-consuming negotiations, the attorney for former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made it clear on Thursday that his client was not going to appear, or product documents for, the House Select Committee on Jan. 6. Responding to that committee, the attorney said that Meadows “remains under the instructions of former President Trump to respect longstanding principles of executive privilege. It now appears the courts will have to resolve this conflict.” It now appears they’re going to get a chance to do so more quickly than Meadows might have anticipated. That’s because, despite the fact that a request to hold Steve Bannon in contempt is still awaiting an official decision from the Department of Justice after almost a month, the committee has now delivered Meadows an ultimatum and a deadline. In a Thursday evening letter, Committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson informed Meadows’ attorney that his client must appear before the committee on Friday, Nov. 12 to provide testimony, answer questions, and turn over documents by 10 AM ET. If not, wrote Thompson, the committee will view his absence as “willful noncompliance” with the subpoena that Meadows was sent all the way back on Sept. 24, leaving the committee with no choice but to send another criminal referral across the street to the Department of Justice. It’s a demand that should hold the serious threat of being placed in jail until compliance, or being sentenced to six months in prison. But whether that still holds true is an absolute mystery. Read more