Eleven months after pro-Trump rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol, the sting of the day may be getting more sharp inside Congress. Last night, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol took a historic vote, unanimously agreeing to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with its work.

Committee Vice Chairman Liz Cheney read a series of dramatic texts Meadows received during the insurrection. They show the alarm rising from some around former President Donald Trump, including his son Donald Trump Jr., who typed to Meadows: “We need an Oval address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”

The full House is expected to vote this evening on whether to hold Meadows in contempt.

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Meadows’ attorneys have said his testimony is protected under executive privilege. As courts work through that issue, and as the committee enters what could be its busiest period, we thought it might be helpful to lay out some basics of where things stand.

The document case: The Jan. 6 committee’s fight over records.

The issue: The Jan. 6 committee has requested Trump-era presidential records, including communications, remarks, visitor logs and other documents pertaining to Jan. 6 events. Trump has asked courts to  stop it, claiming it is overly broad and undermined executive power.

Status: Trump has lost lower court rulings, and is expected to appeal to Supreme Court. The documents remain in possession of the National Archives.

On Nov. 9, District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan denied Trump’s motion to withhold documents. “The Constitution does not expressly define a President’s right to confidential communications,” she wrote. “Presidential conversations are presumptively privileged, but the privilege is not absolute.”

On Dec. 9, a three-judge panel of the U.S.Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously agreed with the lower court, writing a sharp ruling against Trump: “To allow the privilege of a no-longer-sitting President to prevail over Congress’s need to investigate a violent attack on its home and its constitutional operations would gravely impair the basic function of the legislature.” And, “there is a direct linkage between the former President and the events of (Jan. 6).

The witnesses: The committee has been working at an intense pace to speak with dozens of witnesses from the Jan. 6 attack. It has subpoenaed testimony from more than 50 other people, including former administration officials and rally organizers linked to the attacks, and spoken with an even larger number – more than 200 witnesses have voluntarily cooperated and given their testimony. 

Currently three former Trump associates are facing congressional contempt charges for refusing subpoenas requiring them to talk with the committee:

1. Mark Meadows. On Jan. 6, he was Trump’s chief of staff. Status: After initially turning over thousands of pages of text messages and other documents, Meadows has stopped cooperating and refuses to testify.

2. Jeffrey Clark. At the time, Clark was the assistant attorney general in charge of the civil division. Status: Clark has indicated to the committee that he will cite the Fifth Amendment and refuse to testify out of his right to not incriminate himself. A health concern has delayed his formal ability to do this, the committee has also said. Still, the committee has passed a recommendation that he be held in contempt, but the full House is waiting to vote until Clark has a chance to testify or plead the Fifth.

3. Steve Bannon. On Jan. 6, Bannon, a former White House chief strategist, was a private citizen and former White House staffer. Status: Bannon refused to testify or turn over any documents, and has been indicted for contempt of Congress. He has pleaded not guilty and, as things stand, will go to trial in July.

What’s next?

Committee chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he hopes the committee can finish work by “early spring.”

We are still learning the exact costs – in lives and livelihoods – of the devastating storms in Kentucky and across the nation’s midsection last weekend. As these communities begin to rebuild, the potential costs of the damage will eventually emerge, and Congress could be called on to pass another round of emergency funding. That’s become more commonplace in recent years, including this one.

Weather disasters in 2021 have already shaped up to be costlier than last year. (We’re talking billions of dollars.) According to an October report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the costs related to the “18 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events'' in the U.S., for the first nine months of 2021, have totaled more than $104 billion. For all of 2020, it was $100.2 billion.

2020 was itself a historic year. There were 22 major weather events, breaking the previous annual record of 16 such events in 2011 and 2017.

Hurricane Ida, which hit Louisiana the hardest, is the costliest weather disaster so far this year, with damages estimated at $64.5 billion. Here’s a shortlist of the costliest weather disasters in the U.S., from each of the past five years, as calculated by NOAA. The agency adjusts its estimates for inflation over time using the Consumer Price Index:

Hurricane Laura: The 2020 hurricane, which made landfall in southwestern Louisiana, cost $19.9 billion. 42 deaths.

Missouri River and North Central flooding. The 2019 historic flooding in the Midwest cost $11.6 billion. Three deaths.

Hurricane Michael: The 2018 hurricane, only the fourth Category 5 storm on record to hit the U.S. mainland, cost $27 billion. 49 deaths.

Hurricane Harvey: The 2017 hurricane, which made landfall in Rockport, Texas, cost $138.8 billion. 89 deaths.

Louisiana flooding and Hurricane Matthew. These two events were tied for the costliest 2016 disasters. The floods in Louisiana, which was the most damaging flooding event in the U.S. since Superstorm Sandy in 2012, cost $11.5 billion. 13 deaths. Hurricane Matthew caused damage across multiple Southeast states when it struck in October 2016. It also cost $11.5 billion. 49 deaths.

The costs of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. are increasing over time due to a combination of factors, including climate change, NOAA said in its latest report.

Here’s also a look at what relief is being provided to people impacted by the tornadoes, and how you can help.
 

A HAIKU CONTEST!
By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage
Senior Editor, Digital

Breaking news: Here’s the Deal is resurrecting our haiku contests as the year draws to a close. 

We love a theme! It is: Resolutions. What are your hopes for politics in 2022? This could be for politicians, the political discourse or the process of policymaking. (That was for the alliteration lovers among us.)

Here’s how it’ll work:

Keep it to a typical 5-7-5 structure. That means three lines. The first line has five syllables (or sounds), the second has seven, and the third has five.

To kick things off, our own Lisa Desjardins crafted a quick haiku for y’all:

Fear, nonsense abound.
Perhaps Congress needs one bill:
To mandate more naps.

Send your haiku(s) to us by filling out this Google form. Make sure to include your full name and contact information.

Deadline: Sunday, Dec. 19. We’ll announce our favorites in an upcoming newsletter.

The prize: To be announced! 

Good luck!

#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Matt Loffman, @mattloff
Politics Producer

The House will vote Tuesday to hold former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress. Meadows is the third Trump associate the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack has recommended to refer to the Justice Department for contempt charges. So far, only former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has been indicted by a federal grand jury. While several government officials have been cited for contempt of Congress over the years – including former Attorneys General Eric Holder and William Barr – none in recent history, before Bannon, have been indicted. 

Our question: When was the last person indicted by the Justice Department for contempt of Congress? And what agency did she work for?

Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: Which artist did the late Bob Dole listen to on repeat while rehabilitating from a World War II injury? 

The answer: Frank Sinatra, specifically his rendition of “You'll Never Walk Alone.”

Congratulations to our winners: Dean M. Gottehrer and Kathryn Kramer!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.