Former
White
House
Chief
Strategist
Steve
Bannon
exits
the
Manhattan
Federal
Court,
following
his
arraignment
hearing
for
conspiracy
to
commit
wire
fraud
and
conspiracy
to
commit
money
laundering,
in the
Manhattan
borough
of New
York
City,
New
York,
U.S.
August
20,
2020.
(REUTERS/Andrew
Kelly) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rep. Liz
Cheney,
R-Wyo.,
speaks
to
reporters
after
the
House
voted to
hold
former
White
House
Senior
Adviser
Steve
Bannon
in
contempt
of
Congress
for
defying
a
subpoena
from the
committee
investigating
the
violent
Jan. 6
Capitol
insurrection
Thursday,
Oct. 21,
2021, at
the
Capitol
in
Washington.
(AP
Photo/Andrew
Harnik) |
|
US House
holds
Trump
ally
Bannon
in
contempt,
seeks
prosecution
reuters.com
WASHINGTON
-
Longtime
Donald
Trump
ally
Steve
Bannon
could
face
criminal
prosecution
for
refusing
to
cooperate
with a
probe
into the
deadly
Jan. 6
attack
on the
U.S.
Capitol
after
the
House of
Representatives
voted
Thursday
to hold
him in
contempt
of
Congress.
The
Democratic-led
chamber
voted
229 to
202,
with
nine
Republicans
joining
Democrats
to
recommend
the
charges
against
Bannon,
who
served
as chief
strategist
for the
Republican
former
president.
U.S.
Attorney
General
Merrick
Garland
will
make the
final
decision
on
whether
to
prosecute.
Bannon
has
refused
to
comply
with
subpoenas
from the
Jan. 6
Select
Committee
seeking
documents
and his
testimony,
citing
Trump's
insistence
-
disputed
by some
legal
scholars
- that
his
communications
are
protected
by the
legal
doctrine
of
executive
privilege.
"What
sort of
precedent
would it
set for
the
House of
Representatives
if we
allow a
witness
to
ignore
us flat
out
without
facing
any
consequences?"
Democrat
Bennie
Thompson,
chairman
of the
Select
Committee,
said in
debate
before
the
vote.
The
select
committee
voted
unanimously
on
Tuesday
in favor
of the
charges.
THREAT
OF JAIL
TIME
The
Democratic-led
panel
hopes
the
threat
of jail
time -
contempt
of
Congress
carries
a
penalty
of up to
one year
in
prison
and a
$100,000
fine -
will
encourage
cooperation
from the
18 other
Trump
aides
and
rally
organizers
who also
have
been
subpoenaed.
Garland
has yet
to
indicate
how the
department
will
respond.
He told
a House
Judiciary
Committee
hearing
on
Thursday
the
department
would
"apply
the
facts
and the
law" and
make
decisions
"consistent
with the
principles
of
prosecution."
Most
of
Trump's
fellow
Republicans
in
Congress
opposed
creating
either
an
independent
commission
or a
select
committee
to
investigate
the
events
surrounding
Jan. 6.
That day
thousands
of Trump
supporters
descended
on the
Capitol
after he
urged
them in
a fiery
speech
to
protest
his
defeat
by
Democrat
Joe
Biden in
a
November
2020
election
that
Trump
falsely
claims
was
stolen.
Only
two
Republicans
-
Representatives
Liz
Cheney
and Adam
Kinzinger
- are on
the
nine-member
select
committee.
They
were
joined
by seven
other
Republicans
in
backing
the
House
contempt
resolution.
Representative
Greg
Pence,
whose
brother,
former
Vice
President
Mike
Pence,
was
forced
to flee
from the
crowds
on Jan.
6, did
not
vote.
Former
White
House
Chief
Strategist
Steve
Bannon
exits
the
Manhattan
Federal
Court,
following
his
arraignment
hearing
for
conspiracy
to
commit
wire
fraud
and
conspiracy
to
commit
money
laundering,
in the
Manhattan
borough
of New
York
City,
New
York,
U.S.
August
20,
2020.
(REUTERS/Andrew
Kelly)
A
spokeswoman
said
later
Pence
had a
family
medical
emergency
and
would
have
voted
no.
Most
of the
Republicans
who
voted to
hold
Bannon
in
contempt
also
voted
earlier
this
year to
impeach
Trump
over the
Jan. 6
riot.
The
contempt
of
Congress
statute,
passed
in 1857,
states
that the
Justice
Department
has a
duty to
bring a
House
contempt
citation
before a
grand
jury.
But
the
Justice
Department
historically
has said
it makes
the
ultimate
decision
about
whether
to
prosecute
individuals
who defy
congressional
subpoenas.
The last
successful
prosecution
for
contempt
of
Congress
was in
1974
when a
judge
found
Watergate
conspirator
G.
Gordon
Liddy
guilty.
Arguing
against
the
resolution
in the
House,
Republican
Representative
Jim
Banks
accused
the
committee
of
political
motives
for
pursuing
Bannon,
who
played a
major
role in
Trump's
2016
election
victory.
"Steve
Bannon
was a
private
citizen
before,
after
and
during
Jan. 6.
So why
is the
select
committee
interested
in Steve
Bannon?
It's
simple.
He's a
Democrat
party
bogeyman,"
Banks
said.
Four
people
died on
the day
of the
assault,
and one
Capitol
police
officer
died the
next day
after
being
injured
while
defending
the seat
of
government.
Hundreds
of
police
officers
were
injured
and four
have
since
taken
their
own
lives.
PREDICTED
'EXTREME
EVENTS'
The
select
committee
argued
that
Bannon
had made
statements
suggesting
he knew
ahead of
time
about
"extreme
events"
that
would
take
place on
Jan. 6,
when
Congress
was
scheduled
to
certify
Biden as
the
winner
of the
presidential
election.
Bannon
said on
a Jan. 5
podcast
that
"all
hell is
going to
break
loose
tomorrow."
The next
day,
mobs of
Trump
supporters,
many
chanting
"Stop
the
Steal"
and
"Hang
Mike
Pence,"
attacked
the
Capitol
as Vice
President
Pence
and
lawmakers
met to
certify
the
election.
"Mr.
Bannon's
own
public
statements
make
clear:
he knew
what was
going to
happen
before
it did
... The
American
people
deserve
to know
what he
knew,
and what
he did,"
Cheney,
who is
vice
chair of
the
Select
Committee,
said
during
debate.
The
assault
forced
members
of
Congress,
staff
and
journalists
to flee
as
crowds
rampaged
through
the
building,
vandalizing
offices
and
hallways,
smashing
windows
and
stealing
computers
and
other
equipment.
Trump
has
continued
to
insist
falsely
that his
defeat
was the
result
of
fraud.
Multiple
courts,
state
election
officials
and
members
of
Trump's
own
administration
have
rejected
that
claim.
Reporting
by
Patricia
Zengerle;
Additional
reporting
by Sarah
N. Lynch
and Jan
Wolfe;
Editing
by Scott
Malone
and
Alistair
Bell
Our
Standards:
The
Thomson
Reuters
Trust
Principles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|