Will the DOJ make Meadows an offer he can't refuse?

[kentuck]

An offer of immunity?

He will be given a choice - they will ask for the maximum penalty under law if he refuses to cooperate and give up the information that has been requested by the Congressional Committee.

Or they will offer immunity if he agrees to testify to the truth of what happened on and before January 6th.

No doubt, Mr Meadows will have a big decision to make. Does he stick with his Master and go to jail for a year or does he cooperate with the DOJ?

Does he really want to be the fall guy for Trump and the Republican Party?

The cover-up begins in earnest.

[Walleye]

1. I think it depends on how much money he can get from which side

[FBaggins]

2. That isn't how it works

That would be true if DOJ was investigating him for some larger crime and their investigation was the one that he was obstructing. But that isn't the case here. The House has voted to refer him to DOJ for criminal contempt.

Similarly - if the House had voted to ask a judge to enforce their subpoena, he could be held in contempt by that court and incarcerated until he testified. But that didn't happen here either.

All that DOJ can really do with this one is decide whether or not to charge him for this offense... and then prosecute him for it.

And "the maximum penalty under law" isn't so onerous since it's a misdemeanor.

[kentuck]

5. Does that mean that any offer of "immunity" is off the table?

Thanks for your info.

Of course, I do not believe the Committee has referred it to the DOJ as of this morning?

[FBaggins]

8. I don't think it was ever ON the table

He hasn't claimed a 5th amendment privilege that I can remember, so Congress can't offer immunity to trump that.

[Fiendish Thingy]

12. But the congressional hearings and evidence could trigger DOJ action, no?

If Marc Short (Pence’s COS) testifies that Trump, Eastman and Meadows all stated in front of him that they intended to obstruct the certification of the electoral college, despite knowing there was no fraud, and that the SS would be ordered to stand down and the insurrectionists would be allowed to hang Pence if he didn’t go along, and Short had audio recording of the conversation, wouldn’t the DOJ move to indict those crimes?

I think there might be some motivation to cut a deal at that point.

[FBaggins]

13. Could? In theory

But the DOJ handles criminal investigations. Not Congress. DOJ is way ahead of Congress at this point (as they should be). Congressional hearings are mostly about political advantage.

[Fiendish Thingy]

14. So, do you think DOJ already had the Meadows docs before the committee? Nt

[JT45242]

3. Is there potential prison time and fines for using personal phone, email, etc ?

I know they changed rules around private emails after the endless "But her emails" scam. Is there any criminal liability for those things or not reporting the coup powerpoint that the feds could add on?

Just wondering -- they need someting big or he'll likely just go to jail for a year at club fed thinking that it is better than risking a polonium cocktail form his boss's boss.

[FBaggins]

4. Congress isn't a grand jury

They have no ability to charge him with something related to phone/email usage.

This is a criminal referral for contempt of congress. That's it. Congress doesn't have criminal investigatory powers. They just have the ability to hold someone in contempt.

[Fiendish Thingy]

10. They do have the ability to make criminal referrals for crimes other than contempt

But I expect that won’t happen until the committee gets closer to issuing their final report.

Also, the publishing or revealing of evidence, as was done with Meadows criminal referral, could trigger search warrants and indictments via DOJ and its grand juries.

[Beastly Boy]

6. Oh man, if that ever happens,

I am so looking forward to DU exploding with posts that accuse Garland of getting Meadows off the hook in his relentless push to kill the 1/6 investigation!

[kacekwl]

7. He gets NO offer unless

he provides everything and it leads to criminal charges against all the rest of the top conspirators including trump. He has the proof so it's all or nothing.

[Fiendish Thingy]

9. Not if somebody else (Eastman, Stone, Clark) cooperates first

Meadows might miss out on immunity, but could still have a shot at a plea deal. Anyone who pleads guilty to a federal crime typically gets a lower sentence than someone who goes to trial.

At this point, it seems that Meadows and the rest of the subpoena deniers think they can skate without any criminal charges other than contempt if they just continue to stonewall.

With the release of the power point and other documents, I think we are seeing that enough evidence exists for likely criminal referrals to DOJ. The names of the congress people Meadows was texting are due to be released soon, and they may also be candidates for flipping on the coup architects.

I think Pence’s COS Marc Short will be a key witness- I would think he was completely in the loop information-wise, but not necessarily coup-wise, as he served Pence, not Trump.

[former9thward]

11. He is not facing a year in jail or anything close to it.

It is a misdemeanor and a defendant with no criminal history. No judge would give that sentence no matter what the DOJ asked for.

[kentuck]

15. But it is possible the DOJ may find other crimes to charge him with?

Such as obstruction of justice.

Right?