The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol will meet Wednesday to vote on recommending criminal contempt charges against former Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark.

If the House votes to recommend charges, Clark could be the second person to face criminal charges for defying a subpoena as Congress attempts to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection.

Clark, a former Justice Department lawyer who allied himself with then-President Donald Trump as he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, appeared for a deposition on Nov. 5. However, he refused to answer questions, in part because of the former president's legal battle against the committee and its investigation.

"His refusal to answer questions about the former President’s attempt to use the Department of Justice to overturn the election is in direct contrast to his supervisors at the Department, who have come in and answered the committee’s questions on these important topics," Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chair of the panel, wrote in a statement at the time. "It’s astounding that someone who so recently held a position of public trust to uphold the Constitution would now hide behind vague claims of privilege by a former President, refuse to answer questions about an attack on our democracy, and continue an assault on the rule of law."

"I have considered Mr. Clark’s claim of privilege and rejected it," Thompson added. "He has a very short time to reconsider and cooperate fully."

A report issued by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee detailed how Clark championed Trump’s efforts to undo the election results and clashed as a result with Justice Department superiors who resisted the pressure. Clark pushed unfounded theories of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. The efforts culminated in a dramatic White House meeting at which Trump ruminated about elevating Clark to attorney general. He did not do so after several aides threatened to resign.

There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, a statement backed up by officials from both political parties. Claims of voter fraud were rejected in courts nationwide.

The panel has vowed to aggressively seek charges against any witness who doesn’t comply as they investigate the worst attack on the Capitol in two centuries, and the Justice Department has signaled it is willing to pursue those charges, indicting Bannon earlier this month on two federal counts of criminal contempt. Attorney General Merrick Garland said then that Bannon’s indictment reflects the department’s “steadfast commitment” to the rule of law.

But Clark’s case may be more difficult since he appeared for the deposition and, unlike Bannon, was a Trump administration official on Jan. 6. Trump has sued to block the committee’s work and has attempted to assert executive privilege over documents and interviews, arguing that his conversations and actions at the time should be shielded from public view.

The panel is also considering contempt charges against former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who was Trump’s top aide the day that hundreds of his supporters violently attacked the Capitol and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory. Meadows was subpoenaed in September but has not yet sat for an interview with the committee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.