Steve Bannon subpoenas Pelosi, members of Jan. 6 committee
Lawyers for Steve Bannon, the former adviser to former President Donald Trump, have "revenge" subpoenaed The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, as well House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), The Independent reported Wednesday.
Bannon was indicted last year on contempt of Congress charges for refusing to cooperate with a subpoena from the committee. Now, as his July trial approaches, Bannon wants to challenge the viability of the panel's formation. The ex-aide's attorneys also want to "question lawmakers' motives for targeting Bannon and argue Bannon was not required to testify because doing so could have jeopardized former President Trump's executive privilege," CNN summarizes.
Notably, another Trump-appointed federal judge already ruled that the committee is valid, Bloomberg reports.
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.
Three committee staffers, House general counsel Douglas Letter, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) were also subpoenaed alongside all nine committee members and Pelosi.
Former House general counsel Thomas Spulak said he is "extremely confident that the staff members and members of the House would be shielded" from the subpoenas by the Constitution's Speech and Debate Clause, per CNN. "I'm very confident that defense would be upheld, and they will not be compelled to produce anything or appear for anything," he added.
One of Bannon's lawyers said it would be a "terrible irony" if the committee tried to squash the subpoenas, per the Independent. If members really wanted to speak with Bannon, they would not have recommended him for criminal contempt charges, the lawyer, David Schoen, continued.
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.
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
Can the world adapt to climate change?Today's Big Question As world gets hotter, COP30 leaders consider resilience efforts
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
-
Democrats split as Senate votes to end shutdownSpeed Read The proposed deal does not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats’ main demand
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
