Jan 6th Committee Seeks Contempt Charges Against Steve Bannon

The US House of Representatives will vote on Thursday on whether it will hold Steve Bannon, the former Chief Whitehouse Strategist, in contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena from a committee investigating the January 6th incident at the Capitol.

That committee has already made clear its intention to punish anyone who won’t cooperate with the probe, but if the House vote succeeds, there’s still no guarantee that the Justice Department will prosecute Bannon.

The Bannon matter could determine the strength of Congress’ power to call witnesses and demand information. The Jan 6th committee’s Democratic chairman, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, will lead the debate on the bill along with noted Trump enemy Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

The Jan 6th committee already voted on Tuesday evening to recommend the contempt charges against Bannon, citing loosely constructed reports that he communicated with Trump before the insurrection and promoted the largely peaceful protests that day. Members of the committee also stated that Bannon was alone in his complete defiance of the subpoena. Another dozen or so witnesses were at least speaking to the panel.