To the Editor:

Last week, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, took center stage with several others to interfere with the work of the Justice Department and to assist President Trump in his effort to obstruct justice in the Mueller probe. Their spurious demand for Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein to release a vast amount of documents was a thinly veiled attempt to gin up an excuse to charge him with Contempt of Congress, thus providing the groundwork for Trump to fire Rosenstein and close or impede the Mueller probe. Such reckless politicizing made a mockery of Congress’ oversight function.

Throughout the Trump presidency, Rep. Meadows has shown a pattern of blind allegiance to Trump regardless of his bullying behavior, his undermining of our democratic norms, or his refusal to protect our country from Russian meddling.

In November, let’s choose a representative who will uphold the values of our exceptional democracy, not one who shields his party leader at any cost. We can start now by voting for one of the three good congressional candidates in the Democratic primary.

Fred Schmidt

Waynesville