January 6 committee: 5 things we learned this week

On Oct 16, 2021

Key decisions were made that not only cemented the tone of how the committee has chosen to operate, but also brought future roadblocks further into focus.

1. They are making an example of Steve Bannon — but don’t expect a resolution any time soon

“The Select Committee will not tolerate defiance of our subpoenas, so we must move forward with proceedings to refer Mr. Bannon for criminal contempt,” Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who serves as the chair of the committee said in a statement on Thursday.

Bannon was advertising his opposition to the committee in the days leading up to his scheduled deposition. His lawyer wrote a letter to the committee saying that Bannon will not be providing testimony or documents until the committee reaches an agreement with former President Donald Trump over executive privilege or a court weighs in on the matter.

“That is an issue between the committee and President Trump’s counsel and Mr. Bannon is not required to respond at this time,” his attorney Robert Costello wrote the day before Bannon was set to testify.

The committee’s decision to officially move forward with criminal contempt on Bannon underscores how it views criminal contempt as a tool to expedite getting the information they need to move forward with their investigation, or at least showing there are consequences for witnesses that don’t cooperate.

“We think Steve Bannon has information that is germane to what happened on January 6th, and if he refuses the subpoena like we expect him to do, then we are left with no other choice then to ask the Department of Justice to lock him up, hold him in contempt, and clearly that might send enough of a message that he will agree to talk to us,” Thompson added.

What is executive privilege? Does a former president still get it?

But even though the committee is officially moving forward with criminal contempt on Bannon, there is still a long process that needs to play out.

The committee will meet on Tuesday where it will adopt a contempt report, which outlines the efforts the committee made to get a witness to comply with the subpoena, and the failure by the witness to do so.

This report is then referred to the House for a vote. If the vote succeeds, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi certifies the report to the United States attorney for the District of Columbia. Under law, this certification then requires the United States attorney to “bring the matter before the grand jury for its action,” but the Justice Department will also makes its own determinations for prosecuting. The case then heads to trial.

Any individual who is convicted of contempt of Congress is then guilty of a crime that may result in a fine and between one and 12 months imprisonment. But this process is rarely invoked, and rarely leads to jail time.

As severe as a criminal contempt referral sounds, the House’s choice to use the Justice Department may be more of a warning shot than a solution. Holding Bannon in criminal contempt through a prosecution could take years, and historic criminal contempt…