The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol plans to refer former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution after he refused to appear for a deposition, The Hill reports.
“Mr. Bannon has declined to cooperate with the Select Committee and is instead hiding behind the former President’s insufficient, blanket, and vague statements regarding privileges he has purported to invoke. 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. I’ve notified the Select Committee that we will convene for a business meeting Tuesday evening to vote on adopting a contempt report,” Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a statement.
“The Select 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,” he added.
After the panel votes next week, the House will then vote on the measure and if a majority supports it, the speaker will send it to the Justice Department for prosecution.
Bannon’s attorney sent a letter to panel outlining this refusal to comply with the subpoena under orders from Donald Trump citing executive privilege.
“President Trump’s counsel stated that they were invoking executive and other privileges and therefore directed us not to produce documents or give testimony that might reveal information President Trump’s counsel seeks to legally protect,” his lawyer said.
Under federal law, any person who refuses to comply with a congressional subpoena can face a misdemeanor charge that carries a fine of $100 to $100,000 and a jail sentence of one month to one year.
