Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
In Bipartisan House Vote, Trump Ally Steve Bannon Held in Contempt
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
October 21, 2021

Share

WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to hold Steve Bannon, a longtime ally and aide to former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

In a rare show of bipartisanship on the House floor, the committee’s Democratic chairman, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, led the floor debate along with Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, one of two Republicans on the panel. Still, the vote was 229-202 with most GOP lawmakers voting “no,” despite the potential consequences for Congress if witnesses are allowed to ignore its demands.

U.S. Attorney’s Office Could Pursue Criminal Case

The House vote sends the matter to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, where it will now be up to prosecutors in that office to decide whether to present the case to a grand jury for possible criminal charges.

The partisan split over Bannon’s subpoena — and over the committee’s investigation in general — is emblematic of the raw tensions that still grip Congress nine months after the Capitol attack. Democrats have vowed to comprehensively probe the assault in which hundreds of Trump’s supporters battered their way past police, injured dozens of officers and interrupted the electoral count certifying President Joe Biden’s victory.

Lawmakers on the investigating committee say they will move swiftly and forcefully to punish anyone who won’t cooperate with the probe.

“We will not allow anyone to derail our work, because our work is too important,” Thompson said ahead of the vote.

Republicans Claim ‘Witch Hunt’

Republicans call it a “witch hunt,” say it is a waste of time and argue that Congress should be focusing on more important matters.

Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, leading the GOP opposition on the floor, called the probe an “illicit criminal investigation into American citizens” and said Bannon is a “Democrat party boogeyman.”

Cheney and Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger are the only two Republicans on the Jan. 6 panel. Both have openly criticized Trump and his role in fomenting the insurrection, even as other Republicans have mostly remained silent in the face of Trump’s falsehoods about massive fraud in the election. Trump’s claims were rejected by election officials, courts across the country and by his own attorney general.

The Jan. 6 committee voted 9-0 Tuesday to recommend the contempt charges after Bannon missed a scheduled interview with the panel last week, citing a letter from Trump’s lawyer that directed him not to answer questions. The committee noted that Bannon did not work at the White House at the time of the attack, and that he not only spoke with Trump before it but also promoted the protests on his podcast and predicted there would be unrest. On Jan. 5, Bannon said that “all hell is going to break loose.”

Bannon Alone in Completely Defying Subpoena

Lawmakers on the panel said Bannon was alone in completely defying its subpoena, while more than a dozen other subpoenaed witnesses were at least negotiating with them.

“Mr. Bannon’s own public statements make clear he knew what was going to happen before it did, and thus he must have been aware of — and may well have been involved in — the planning of everything that played out on that day,” Cheney said ahead of the vote. “The American people deserve to know what he knew and what he did.”

Even if the Justice Department does decide to prosecute, the case could take years to play out — potentially pushing past the 2022 election when Republicans could win control of the House and end the investigation.

There’s still considerable uncertainty about whether the department will prosecute, despite Democratic demands for action. It’s a decision that will determine not only the effectiveness of the House investigation but also the strength of Congress’ power to call witnesses and demand information.

Prosecution Not a Certainty

While the department has historically been reluctant to use its prosecution power against witnesses found in contempt of Congress, the circumstances are exceptional as lawmakers investigate the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol in two centuries.

Attorney General Merrick Garland gave no hints during a House hearing on Thursday.

“If the House of Representatives votes for a referral of a contempt charge, the Department of Justice will do what it always does in such circumstances. It will apply the facts and the law and make a decision consistent with the principles of prosecution,” he said.

Democrats are pressuring Justice to take the case, arguing that nothing less than democracy is on the line.

“The stakes are enormous,” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said in an interview with The Associated Press.

If the Justice Department doesn’t prosecute, the House has other options, including a civil lawsuit. That could also take years but would force Bannon and any other witnesses to defend themselves in court.

Another option would be for Congress to try to imprison defiant witnesses — an unlikely, if not outlandish, scenario. Called “inherent contempt,” the process was used in the country’s early years but hasn’t been employed in almost a century.

The lingering acrimony over the insurrection, and the Bannon subpoena, flared Wednesday at a House Rules Committee hearing held to set the parameters of Thursday’s debate. Under intense questioning from Raskin, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican who defended Trump and opposed the Bannon contempt effort, said he accepted that Biden is the president but would not say that Biden won the election.

Raskin said, “I know that might work on Steve Bannon’s podcast, but that’s not going to work in the Rules Committee of the United States House of Representatives, Mr. Gaetz. I’m sorry.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Man Convicted of Child Molestation During Burglary Faces Life Without Parole

DON'T MISS

What Local Politicians, LGBT Community Say About Trans Track Star

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Arrested After Stolen City Vehicle Pursuit, Fires in Madera County

DON'T MISS

Former MLB All-Star Breaks Ground on BMW/Porsche/Audi Dealership in Clovis

DON'T MISS

Fresno, Clovis to Open Cooling Centers as Temperatures Expected to Soar

DON'T MISS

Costco Misses Quarterly Revenue Expectations Amid Reduced Consumer Spending

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Authorities Respond to Double Shooting in Goshen

DON'T MISS

US Appeals Court Reinstates Trump Tariffs, Sowing Market Confusion

DON'T MISS

A Program Paying CA Jurors $100 a Day Would End Due to Newsom’s Budget Cuts

DON'T MISS

Some Glaciers Will Vanish No Matter What, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Dealmaker or Duped? Trump’s Embrace of Putin Shows Few Results

UP NEXT

Trump Gives Harvard 30 Days to Contest End of International Student Enrollment

UP NEXT

Elon Musk Exiting Trump’s Team After Criticizing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

UP NEXT

Federal Trade Court Blocks Trump From Imposing Sweeping Tariffs Under Emergency Powers Law

UP NEXT

US Court Blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

UP NEXT

Rubio Says US Will Start Revoking Visas for Chinese Students

UP NEXT

California Opens Track-and-Field Finals to More Girls After Success of Trans Athlete

UP NEXT

Elon Musk Criticizes Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ a Fracture in a Key Relationship

UP NEXT

Soria Replaces Attorneys In Middle of Defamation Case

UP NEXT

High School Dropout to Five Decades in Congress: Charles Rangel Dies at 94

Former MLB All-Star Breaks Ground on BMW/Porsche/Audi Dealership in Clovis

12 hours ago

Fresno, Clovis to Open Cooling Centers as Temperatures Expected to Soar

13 hours ago

Costco Misses Quarterly Revenue Expectations Amid Reduced Consumer Spending

13 hours ago

Tulare County Authorities Respond to Double Shooting in Goshen

13 hours ago

US Appeals Court Reinstates Trump Tariffs, Sowing Market Confusion

13 hours ago

A Program Paying CA Jurors $100 a Day Would End Due to Newsom’s Budget Cuts

13 hours ago

Some Glaciers Will Vanish No Matter What, Study Finds

14 hours ago

Dealmaker or Duped? Trump’s Embrace of Putin Shows Few Results

14 hours ago

Fresno Will Build New Firehouse, Replacing ‘Temporary’ Station After 50 Years

14 hours ago

Canada Wants to Kill 400 Ostriches. RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz Want to Save Them.

14 hours ago

Tulare County Man Convicted of Child Molestation During Burglary Faces Life Without Parole

A Tulare County jury has convicted a Porterville man of molesting a 4-year-old girl during a home burglary in 2020, prosecutors said Thursda...

11 hours ago

Serafin Narcisco, 44, of Porterville, was convicted on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, of molesting a 4-year-old girl during a 2020 home burglary. (Tulare County SO)
11 hours ago

Tulare County Man Convicted of Child Molestation During Burglary Faces Life Without Parole

11 hours ago

What Local Politicians, LGBT Community Say About Trans Track Star

A man accused of stealing a City of Fresno vehicle was arrested Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Madera County after a pursuit that sparked small fires and ended with a crash. (Madera County SO)
11 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested After Stolen City Vehicle Pursuit, Fires in Madera County

12 hours ago

Former MLB All-Star Breaks Ground on BMW/Porsche/Audi Dealership in Clovis

13 hours ago

Fresno, Clovis to Open Cooling Centers as Temperatures Expected to Soar

13 hours ago

Costco Misses Quarterly Revenue Expectations Amid Reduced Consumer Spending

Tulare County sheriff’s detectives are investigating a double shooting in Goshen after two people were found wounded Thursday, May 29, 2025. (Tulare County SO)
13 hours ago

Tulare County Authorities Respond to Double Shooting in Goshen

13 hours ago

US Appeals Court Reinstates Trump Tariffs, Sowing Market Confusion

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend