President Joe Biden endorsed Wednesday the ongoing political persecution of Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff for President Donald Trump.
The president said he felt Meadows was “worthy” of being held in contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with a subpoena from the select committee to investigate the January 6 protests.
“I don’t know enough, just what I’ve seen. I have not spoken to anyone,” Biden said to reporters as he left the White House. “It seems to me he’s worthy of being held in contempt.”
When Biden was asked if he had seen texts released by the select committee, he replied, “I haven’t seen them all.”
Despite turning over some information to the committee, Meadows stopped cooperating, citing Trump’s executive privilege.
The House voted Tuesday 222–208 to find Meadows in contempt, as two Republicans, Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Liz Cheney (R-WY), voted with Democrats.
Meadows remains defiant, even suing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and every member of the select committee, claiming a constitutional right to executive privilege.
“They’re not going to intimidate me,” he said during a conversation with supporters on Tuesday.
Biden’s comment demonstrates that he believes Meadows is guilty of a crime, which could affect the Justice Department’s decision of whether or not to prosecute him.
The president also said in October he supported the Justice Department indicting Trump’s aides for not cooperating with the select committee, even though he later admitted his comment was “not appropriate.”