White House Chief of Staff MarkMeadows speaks to reporters after a television interview outside the White House.
A court filing shows that a former White House chief of staff sued the House Speaker and the members of the committee investigating the Capitol riot.
The civil lawsuit came as the select panel was about to hold Meadows in contempt for refusing to cooperate with the investigation of the Capitol invasion.
The lawsuit was filed in the District Court in Washington, DC, asking the court to throw out the subpoenas that the panel had issued.
According to the complaint, Trump instructed Meadows not to comply with the subpoena for his documents and testimony because they are covered by executive privilege. Trump filed his own lawsuit against the probe after President Joe Biden nixed his privilege claims.
The complaint says that he has been put in a difficult position of choosing between conflicting privilege claims. The courts are asked to settle the dispute.
The spokesman for the select committee wouldn't comment on the lawsuit. A lawyer and a spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
The third Trump ally to be threatened with contempt of Congress is the one who refused to comply with the Capitol riot probe. The select committee voted last week to move forward with contempt proceedings against Jeffrey Clark.
The House voted to hold Steve Bannon in contempt for his noncompliance with a subpoena. A federal grand jury in November charged the man with contempt of Congress.
The man has pleaded not guilty. He faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000 if convicted. A judge set a tentative start date for the trial.
