Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) thinks Stephen Bannon's indictment will kill two birds with one stone.
Bannon, one-time chief strategist to former President Donald Trump, was indicted on Friday on contempt of Congress charges, after he refused to comply with a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Schiff, who is on the House panel, argued to NBC on Sunday that the indictment will likely push other witnesses to comply with their subpoenas.
"Now that witnesses see that if they don't cooperate, if they don't fulfill their lawful duty when subpoenaed, that they too may be prosecuted, it will have a very strong focusing effect on their decision-making," said Schiff, per Politico. "So it's very positive. I view this as an early test of whether democracy was recovering."
The Justice Department reportedly moved remarkably fast to indict Bannon, escalating the battle to compel him to testify before the committee and provide documents related to his knowledge of the Capitol riot. Schiff said "without a doubt" this action "influenced other witnesses." Bannon is expected to self-surrender on Monday to law enforcement, reports Politico.