[BREAKING] Jan 6th Committee Will Seek Criminal Contempt For Steve Bannon

The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol will vote next Tuesday to hold Trump political adviser Steve Bannon in Contempt of Congress after he did not comply with a subpoena. Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said in a statement that Bannon has declined to cooperate with the committee and is instead “hiding behind the former President’s insufficient, blanket, and vague statements regarding privileges he has purported to invoke.”

A lawyer for Bannon said in a letter sent to the Committee on Wednesday that the former White House aide would not comply with the subpoena the Committee issued for documents and his testimony. The former Trump adviser had been instructed to appear for a deposition Thursday, but Donald Trump’s counsel advised former aides not to cooperate with the Committee.

Mark Meadows, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, and Kashyap Patel, who was chief of staff to Trump’s defense secretary, were cooperating with the committee, but Bannon was not. Rep. Thompson said that the 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.”

I’m looking forward to the video of the US Marshals chasing Steve Bannon.

— Hoodlum 🇺🇸 (@NotHoodlum) October 14, 2021

“We reject his position entirely. The Select Committee will not tolerate defiance of our subpoenas, so we must move forward with proceedings to refer Mr. Bannon for criminal contempt,” said Thompson, who said that the vote is scheduled for Tuesday evening.

Let Bannon stand in court wearing an orange jumpsuit and explain why he shouldn’t have to follow the same laws the rest of us have to follow. https://t.co/Jb5XbtXmjd

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) October 14, 2021

 

Contempt of Congress can result in a fine and between one and 12 months in prison, according to the Committee.

BREAKING: Chairman @BennieGThompson announces the Select Committee will move forward with proceedings to refer Mr. Bannon for criminal contempt. Read the full statement: https://t.co/NzwmvR09pa

— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) October 14, 2021

[This is a breaking and developing story, please check back for updates]