The US House of Representatives has approved a resolution to hold Mark Meadows, who served as the White House chief of staff under former president Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress and recommended that he face federal charges.
Mr Meadows was held in contempt for failing to appear for a deposition with the congressional panel investigating the January 6 assault on the Capitol.
The move late on Tuesday came a week after the Republican politician stopped co-operating with the committee. A lawyer for Mr Meadows said the panel was not respecting the boundaries of executive privilege.
Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who both serve on the House select committee, were the lone Republicans to join Democrats in backing the referral.
Tuesday night's vote came one day after the January 6 panel revealed a series of panicky text messages received by Mr Meadows on January 6. The texts were sent by Republican members of Congress, journalists, Fox News hosts and even Mr Trump's own son, begging Mr Meadows to make Mr Trump end the violence.
"We need an Oval [Office] address," Donald Trump Jr texted Mr Meadows as the president's supporters broke into the Capitol, causing members of Congress, staffers and journalists to flee to safety.
"He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”
Mr Trump Jr added: "He’s got to condemn this [expletive] ASAP."
Fox News host Laura Ingraham said the president is "destroying his legacy".
"Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home," one text reads.
Primetime host Sean Hannity asked: "Can he make a statement? Ask people to leave the Capitol."
The texts were part of a collection of 9,000 documents Mr Meadows provided to the committee before he stopped co-operating. Members of the panel said the texts raise serious questions about what the White House and Mr Trump were doing as the attack was under way.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday told reporters: "we are all watching ... what is unfolding on the House side. And it will be interesting to reveal all the participants who were involved."
Mr Meadows became the first former member of the House of Representatives since the 1830s to be held in contempt. He also is the first chief of staff to be prosecuted since leaving the position in nearly 50 years.
The charges will now be sent to federal prosecutors who will decide whether to present the case to a grand jury for possible criminal charges.
Bennie Thompson, chair of the House select committee, said history will not consider Mr Meadows a "victim".
"History will be written about these times, about the work this committee has undertaken,” he said.
“And history will not look upon any of you as a martyr."
Mr Meadows's contempt charge is the latest show of force by the House select committee, which has moved rapidly as it investigates the events surrounding the January 6 insurrection.
The committee has so far interviewed more than 300 witnesses and subpoenaed 40 people as it aims to establish the most comprehensive record yet on the lead-up to the insurrection and the violence on Capitol Hill itself.
Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist, has already been charged with contempt and surrendered to federal authorities. A federal judge last week set a tentative trial start date for July 18, 2022.
Mr Bannon and Mr Meadows could face up to a year in prison on each charge if convicted.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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THREE
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company%20profile
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
