The Justice Department said the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol Hill riot was justified in subpoenaing former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. The decision was made in a court filing filed Friday in a civil lawsuit Meadows filed in December against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of the Jan. 6 committee. He filed the lawsuit after the commission had subpoenaed him for testimony and documents. The judge in the case asked the Justice Department to evaluate whether or not Meadows had immunity that would have allowed him to ignore the subpoenas. But in its filing Friday, the Justice Department said that as a former adviser to a former president, he did not. “When a congressional committee requires testimony from a direct presidential adviser after the President’s term ends, the relevant constitutional concerns are diminished,” the filing said. “Accordingly, the Department does not believe that the absolute witness immunity applicable to such an adviser continues after the President’s departure.” The filing said the adviser has “a formal immunity” but that it can be waived if Congress can “sufficiently demonstrate a need” for the information. The Justice Department’s conclusion comes a month after it declined to hold Meadows in contempt of court for failing to comply with House subpoenas and refusing to testify. The decision was met with some criticism, including from Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who is also a member of the House select committee. It also comes as reports suggest Trump’s inner circle expects Meadows to fall on Jan. 6. Trump’s lawyers told Rolling Stone this week that they believe Meadows will be a fall guy. “Mark will be pulverized,” one of Trump’s legal advisers told the magazine, which spoke to eight unnamed sources for its report. “And it’s really sad.” The attorney added that he believed Meadows didn’t look into the election lies, but was “trying to pay off” for Trump and that he may have “completely screwed himself over.” Meadows was also tied to the explosive testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, who served as Meadows’ top aide at the time of the Capitol uprising. Hutchinson testified that Meadows was among Trump’s allies who sought a preemptive pardon from the former president. She also said Meadows had told her in January that he believed “things could get really, really bad.” An attorney for Meadows did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
