January 6 Investigation Critical to Future of American Democracy

The House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol is on the front line of the defense of American Democracy. It has justly voted to hold former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in criminal contempt for defying a subpoena. Disclosure of text messages to and from Meadows, including those from sympathetic GOP lawmakers, reveal that he was at the epicenter of communications and reaction on the day that pro-Trump forces staged a coup, which sought to derail the official Electoral College count, with the hope of keeping Donald Trump in power. Meadows' testimony before the House select committee can further illuminate Trump's role in the planning and incitement of the attack on the Capitol and why Trump refused to intervene to halt the insurrection. A yet unnamed Trump advisor has stated that Trump watched the mayhem with enthusiasm, happy to see the…