House Holds Bannon In Criminal Contempt Over Jan. 6 Subpoena Refusal

In a 229-202 vote, the House moved to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt of Congress.

The vote means that Bannon will be referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for potential prosecution over defying a congressional subpoena issued by the Jan. 6 Committee.

Democrats were joined by committee co-chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and panel member Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) in the vote. Reps. Peter Meijer (R-MI) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Fred Upton (R-MI), Jamie Herrera-Beutler (R-WA), John Katko (R-NY), – all of whom voted to impeach Trump over inciting the insurrection – voted in favor of the contempt resolution as well. Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) did not vote to impeach Trump, but did vote in favor of the contempt resolution.

The panel sent Bannon the subpoena last month along with three other Trump cronies, demanding information about the run-up to the Capitol insurrection and about reported conversations that he had with Trump before the attack.

Bannon raised a series of groundless, executive privileged-based concerns as a justification for not complying with the subpoena. He last served in the White House in August 2017.

After the former Trump campaign chairman skipped out on an Oct. 14 deposition, the panel initiated contempt proceedings.

Those concluded on Thursday with the successful House vote to cite him with contempt. That kicks the ball into the Justice Department’s court on whether to file charges against Bannon, potentially holding him accountable for refusing to cooperate with the investigation into the events of the insurrection.

The D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office is currently without a Senate-confirmed leader, however. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is reportedly holding up the confirmation of nominee Matt Graves, demanding information from the DOJ on the supposedly “unequal application of justice between the individuals who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, and those involved in the unrest during the spring and summer of 2020.”