As Steve Bannon faces subpoena deadline, January 6 panel prepares to immediately

On Oct 14, 2021

Bannon’s lawyer on Wednesday wrote a letter to the panel saying that his client will not provide 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,” attorney Robert Costello wrote.

If Bannon is a no-show, the committee is expected to immediately begin seeking a referral for criminal contempt after the subpoena deadline passes — essentially making an example of Bannon’s noncompliance as the House seeks more witnesses, sources familiar with the planning told CNN.

While it could take some time before the House sends such a referral to the Department of Justice, the committee could take initial steps within hours of the panel’s stated deadline — which is Thursday — if Bannon refuses to cooperate, the sources added, underscoring the growing sense of urgency around the investigation itself.

CNN reported Wednesday that the committee is unified in its plan to seek criminal charges against those who refuse to comply, and lawmakers have specifically homed in on Bannon while discussing the option publicly.

“The reason why some of these witnesses, people like Steve Bannon, who have been public about their contempt for Congress feel they can get away with it is for four years, they did,” committee member Rep. Adam Schiff told MSNBC on Wednesday.

January 6 committee unified in pushing for charges for those who defy subpoenas

Schiff, who also chairs the Intelligence Committee, noted that Bannon had refused to cooperate with the House’s Russia investigation during the Trump administration because he “would never be held in contempt.”

“He would never be prosecuted by the Trump Justice Department. But those days are over. And I view that not only as essential to our investigation but I also view this, the enforcement of the rule of law, as an early test of whether our democracy is recovering,” the California Democrat added.

CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen swiftly pushed back on Costello’s letter Wednesday, saying, “It’s just wrong. The letter quotes a case saying ‘the President’ can make executive privilege determinations. But Trump is no longer ‘the President.’ In the United States, we only have one of those at a time, he is Joe Biden, and he has not asserted privilege here.”

Three other Trump allies also face subpoena deadlines this week. Two of them, Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former administration official Kash Patel, have been “engaging” with the committee, according to the panel, though it remains unclear if that contact amounts to any form of cooperation.

The committee was able only recently to serve Trump’s former deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino a subpoena, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, and his deadline to appear for a deposition has likely been delayed.

As to whether Meadows and Patel will appear before the panel for their depositions later this week, committee member Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a Florida Democrat, said, “My expectation is that they will do the patriotic thing and appear before the committee, and if they don’t have anything to hide, there’s no…

As Steve Bannon faces subpoena deadline, January 6 panel prepares to immediately

Get more stuff like this in your inbox

Get more stuff like this
in your inbox