Bennie Thompson

Mr. Meadows put himself in this situation and he must now accept the consequences.

They will come out. The information we received has been quite revealing about members of Congress involved in the activities of January 6th, as well as staff.

Mr. Meadows put himself in this situation. He must now accept the consequences.

His legacy will now solely be that he stood in the way of finding the truth about an attack on our democracy.

History will be written about these times about the work this committee has undertaken and history will not look upon any of you as martyrs.

History will not look upon any of you as martyrs, history will not look upon you as a victim.

Given the information that we`ve had to review as a committee, I think Mr. Meadows has significant reason to be concerned about his activities.

We need to put him under oath. He needs to come before us and tell the truth.

We have testimony about the delays that occurred, we have testimony and information about other individuals who made suggestions as to what federal assets could be used to promote this lie.

We want to get it right, we don`t think hurrying the work of the committee would be in the committee`s best interests, nor the best interests of this country.

We`re making progress and before too long, our findings will be out in the open. We`ll have public hearings, we`ll tell this story to the American people, but we won`t do it piecemeal. We`ll do it when we can tell the story all at once…

I support advancing this contempt referral, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.

Our democracy was inches from ruin. Our system of government was stretched to the breaking point.

The Select Committee's report referring Mr. Meadows for criminal contempt charges is clear and compelling.

We are making swift progress, and before too long our findings will be out in the open.

Our hearts and prayers go out to all those impacted.

I will now recognize myself for an opening statement.

Anything less than his full cooperation further enables the erosion of our Constitution, our democratic institutions, and the rule of law.

The fate of our Republic has never faced a threat as acute and as imminent as we face today.

The select committee will be left no choice but to advance contempt proceedings and refer Mark Meadows for criminal prosecution.

If indeed Mr. Meadows refuses to appear, the Select Committee will be left no choice but to advance contempt proceedings and recommend that the body in which Mr. Meadows once served refer him for criminal prosecution.

It won’t take long, the potential for doing it next week is real.

Tomorrow`s deposition, which was schedule at Mark Meadows requests, will go forward as planned.

This committee`s investigation into the violent assault on our Capitol on January 6 is not a game. When this committee convenes hearings, witnesses will be called to testify under oath. Any communications Mr. Trump has with this committee…

If you want to know what contempt of Congress really looks like, read a transcript of Mr. Clark`s deposition and his attorneys` correspondence with the select committee, because what you find there is contempt for Congress and for the…