The Jan. 6 committee will move to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for defying its subpoena. Then what?
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot announced Thursday it will move to hold former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon in criminal contempt for defying its subpoena, The Washington Post reports.
"The Select Committee will use every tool at its disposal to get the information it seeks, and witnesses who try to stonewall the Select Committee will not succeed," said Chair Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) in a statement. Bannon did not show up for a deposition before the committee on Thursday, writes Axios, making this "the first major test" of how the committee will handle uncooperative witnesses.
Thompson said he notified the rest of the panel that "we will convene for a business meeting Tuesday evening to vote on adopting a contempt report."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
So what happens now?
Well, first, the committee must vote Tuesday to approve the contempt charge. After that, the measure goes to the House for a separate vote. If passed, the "the contempt referral would then be sent to the Justice Department," where it would be up to Attorney General Merrick Garland to decide whether to criminally prosecute Bannon for defying the congressional subpoena, explains the Post.
On that front, NBC News' justice correspondent Pete Williams expects the Department of Justice to act "pretty promptly" should they receive the referral from the House. "I would think Congress will act very quickly and then the U.S. attorney will act within, I would think, a matter of days," Williams said on MSNBC.
If the contempt prosecution is successful, Bannon could face incarceration, a fine, or both, writes the Post; however, it is worth noting that "a conviction on this misdemeanor offense may not necessarily result in the committee receiving the information it wants."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Will California’s Proposition 50 kill gerrymandering reform?Talking Points Or is opposing Trump the greater priority for voters?
-
‘The trickle of shutdowns could soon become a flood’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Wikipedia: Is ‘neutrality’ still possible?Feature Wikipedia struggles to stay neutral as conservatives accuse the site of being left-leaning
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified filesSpeed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DCSpeed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operationsSpeed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
