Steve Bannon, former advisor to President Trump, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of contempt of Congress.
Bannon, 67, was slapped with two charges — one for refusing to appear before the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives’ select committee to investigate January 6 when the committee issued him a subpoena; the other for failing to provide the committee with requested documents.
In a press release published by the Justice Department on Friday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland was quoted as saying that “Since my first day in office, I have promised Justice Department employees that together we would show the American people by word and deed that the department adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts and the law and pursues equal justice under the law.”
“Today’s charges reflect the department’s steadfast commitment to these principles,” Garland added.
No arraignment date has yet been set. Per the release, the House’s subpoena said the committee “had reason to believe that Bannon had information relevant to understanding events related to Jan. 6.”
It noted that “Bannon, formerly a Chief Strategist and Counselor to the President, has been a private citizen since departing the White House in 2017.”
“The subpoena required him to appear and produce documents to the Select Committee, and to appear for a deposition before the Select Committee,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “According to the indictment, Mr. Bannon refused to appear to give testimony as required by subpoena and refused to produce documents in compliance with a subpoena.”
Bannon’s case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and prosecuted by the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The DOJ’s release asserts that “an indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.” It also notes that each count of contempt of Congress carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, as well as a fine of $100 to $1,000.
The House voted 229-202 to hold Bannon in contempt last month on Oct. 21. The vote was made possible thanks to nine Republicans who sided with Democrats.
It has been 40 years since anyone was indicted on similar charges was sent to prison, making it unlikely that Bannon will do prison time.
Bannon’s legal team has stated that he is not cooperating with the subpoena at this time because President Trump is invoking executive privilege and Bannon wants to wait until that issue has been resolved or a court ruling has been made on the matter.
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In a letter to the January 6 committee, Bannon’s lawyer, Robert Costello, wrote:
“Until such a time as you reach an agreement with President Trump or receive a court ruling as to the extent, scope and application of the executive privilege … Mr. Bannon will not be producing documents or testifying…. Mr. Bannon will revisit his position if President Trump’s position changes or if a court rules on this matter.”
A second witness, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, defied a similar subpoena from the committee on Friday. The chairman of the Jan. 6 panel, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, said he will be recommending contempt charges against Meadows next week.
Breitbart News notes:
The White House said in a letter Thursday that President Joe Biden would waive any privilege that would prevent Meadows from cooperating with the committee, prompting his lawyer to say Meadows wouldn’t comply.
“Legal disputes are appropriately resolved by courts,” said the lawyer, George Terwilliger. “It would be irresponsible for Mr. Meadows to prematurely resolve that dispute by voluntarily waiving privileges that are at the heart of those legal issues.”
As the sitting president, Biden has so far waived most of Trump’s assertions of privilege over documents. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has backed Biden’s position, noting in one ruling this week that “Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.”
On Thursday, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the release of some of the White House records the January 6 panel is seeking, giving that court more time to consider the arguments from President Trump’s legal team.
