Nine Republicans Join Dems in Bipartisan House Vote to Hold Steve Bannon in Contempt

The House has passed the resolution to hold former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon in contempt for refusing to appear to testify before the Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Bannon’s defiance of the Committee’s subpoena led to the panel’s unanimous decision to bring the resolution to the House floor.

Despite the take that Bannon will revel in the contempt charge, thereby making him a MAGA martyr, House Democrats received bipartisan support from nine Republicans, many of whom also voted to impeach Trump for the second time.

Before the vote was taken, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and others took to the floor to speak to the necessity of bringing Bannon in for questioning by the Committee. Bannon’s claims of executive privilege are baseless, according to Dana Remus, White House counsel, and neither apply to him nor Trump.

A majority of the U.S. House of Representatives has just voted to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt.

The next step is for the Department of Justice to impanel a grand jury and indict him for refusing to comply with the January 6th Committee's subpoena. pic.twitter.com/prC39khRey

— Grant Stern is fully vaccinated (@grantstern) October 21, 2021

The vote will be certified by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who will then send the referral to the U.S. Attorney’s office, and then the Department of Justice will decide whether or not they will follow up on the referral.

BREAKING: House votes to refer criminal contempt charges for Steve Bannon to the D.C. prosecutor. The vote was 211 to 205, with just two Republicans joining Democrats to vote in favor of the resolution.

— Andrew Wortman 🏳️‍🌈 (@AmoneyResists) October 21, 2021

The criminal offense of Contempt of Congress sets the penalty at not less than one month nor more than twelve months in jail and a fine of not more than $100,000 or less than $100, but in Bannon’s case, it remains to be seen what his punishment would be.

Listen to Steve Bannon talking about #January6th. The American people deserve to hear his testimony. pic.twitter.com/JDnotq5eDr

— Rep. Liz Cheney (@RepLizCheney) October 21, 2021

Select Committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) categorized Bannon as the only recipient of their subpoenas who has refused to cooperate.

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