The Democrat-led House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol breach said Thursday that it is moving to hold former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for not complying with the panel’s subpoena.
“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,” said committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.
The panel will give other former Trump officials more time to comply with the subpoenas it has issued. Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and intelligence adviser Kash Patel were reportedly scheduled to appear before the committee this week, but have now been provided with extensions.
Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino’s subpoena delivery was delayed, so the committee postponed his deposition. All three advisers are considered, by the committee, to be key witnesses to the Trump administration’s actions on Jan. 6.
Bannon, who left the Trump White House in 2017, has not cooperated with the committee’s subpoenas. His lawyer, Robert Costello, informed Thompson on Wednesday that his client would not be providing information requested by the committee.
If a contempt charge is approved by a committee, it is sent to the House for a full vote. If it succeeds in the House, it it sent to the Justice Department, where it would be up to Attorney General Merrick Garland to prosecute an individual for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena.
