Trump Attorney tells former advisors not to comply with January 6th committee

An attorney for former president Donald Trump, in a letter reviewed by The Washington Post, instructed former advisers, including Mark Meadows, Kash Patel, Dan Scavino and Stephen K. Bannon, not to comply with the Jan. 6 committee.

The group of former White House aides were subpoenaed last month by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, seeking records and testimony by midnight Thursday. Trump’s legal team argued in the letter, which was first reported by Politico, that records and testimony related to Jan. 6 are protected “from disclosure by the executive and other privileges, including among others the presidential communications, deliberative process, and attorney-client privileges.”

It remains to be seen whether Scavino, Bannon and Meadows, who did not respond to requests for comment, ultimately cooperate with the committee. In a statement provided to The Post, Patel suggested that he will not cooperate with the committee, referencing his website — “Paid for by Kash Patel Legal Offense Trust” — where he’s raising $250,000 “to fund a top-notch legal team.”

“I will continue to tell the American people the truth about January 6, and I am putting our country and freedoms first through my Fight with Kash initiative,” Patel said in the statement.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a member of the House select committee, threatened possible contempt charges for Trump’s former advisers if they do not comply with their subpoenas, saying it ultimately would be up to Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MI), the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee [Washington Post].