After refusing to appear before lawmakers investigating the January 6 insurgency at the Capitol, a Congressional Committee in the United States overwhelmingly agreed to hold Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's former White House advisor, in contempt of Congress.
Until his firing in 2017, Bannon was a prominent assistant to US President Donald Trump.
The committee is pursuing Bannon's testimony because of reports that he had conversations with Trump before the January 6 siege in which dozens of police officers were injured, and elected officials ran for their lives as Trump supporters fought their way into the Capitol building in Washington, DC.
Donald Trump seeks to impede the committee's work by instructing Steve Bannon and others not to respond to questions and filing a lawsuit to prevent Congress from getting papers relevant to his term as president.
The committee is interested in Bannon's conversations with Trump before the insurgency, his efforts to persuade Trump to focus on congressional certification of Joe Biden's election victory, and his comments on January 5 that "all hell is going to break loose" the next day.
Bannon refused to comply with a subpoena for papers and testimony, but the committee indicated on Tuesday that it would not accept rejection.
Bennie Thompson, the committee's chairman, said Bannon "stands alone in his complete defiance of our subpoena," and that while Bannon may be "willing to be a martyr to the disgraceful cause of whitewashing what happened on January 6 — of demonstrating his complete loyalty to the former president," the contempt vote serves as a warning to other witnesses.
"We're not going to be deterred." We're not going to be sidetracked. And we're not going to be late," Thompson remarked.
The contempt resolution was sent to the full House on Tuesday evening, and it is anticipated to be voted on Thursday.
With House approval, the matter will be sent to the Justice Department, which will decide whether or not to press criminal charges against Bannon.
Even though Trump's counsel has argued that Bannon should not reveal information because it is protected by the former president's office's privilege, the contempt resolution states that the former Trump assistant and podcast host has no legal authority to defy the committee.
The committee wrote in the resolution recommending contempt that Bannon "appears to have had multiple roles relevant to this investigation, including his role in constructing and participating in the'stop the steal' public relations effort that motivated the attack" and "his efforts to plan political and other activity in advance of January 6."
The vote comes a day after Trump filed a lawsuit against the committee and the National Archives to prevent the release of information requested by the committee.
The panel's August request was extensive and a "vexatious, illegal fishing expedition," according to Trump's lawsuit, which was filed after Biden announced he'd accept the records' release.
Trump's lawsuit seeks to strike down the entire legislative proposal, claiming it is too broad, too burdensome, and a violation of the separation of powers. It asks for a court order preventing the archivist from producing the papers.
In approving the materials for release, the Biden administration stated that the violent siege of the Capitol more than nine months ago was such an unusual event that it warranted waiving the privilege that normally shields White House communications.
