The House will vote Thursday afternoon to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with a subpoena to testify before the House Select Committee probing the January 6 Capitol attack.
In the highly likely event that the measure succeeds, the matter will be handed over to the Justice Department, where there is still uncertainty over whether they will move to prosecute Bannon.
Attorney General Merrick Garland would not commit during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday on whether the DOJ would move forward with bringing criminal contempt charges against Bannon.
'Some representatives' votes for referral of a contempt charge, the Department of Justice will do what it always does in such circumstances – apply the facts of the law and make a decision consistent with the principles of prosecution,' Garland said, in deflecting directly answering the question.
All 220 Democrats are expected to back the resolution holding Bannon in contempt – and there's likely to be some Republican support as well. When the commission was created back in May, 30 Republicans voted for the proposal. It's likely the same group of Republicans could move forward in voting to hold Bannon in contempt.
The lone GOP members of the Select Committee are Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois – both anti-Trump Republicans.
Following the House vote, the contempt resolution will be sent to Channing Phillips, the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, who will decide with other Justice officials whether to bring criminal contempt charges against Bannon.
The House will hold a full floor vote on a resolution holding Steve Bannon (pictured) in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to testify before the House Select Committee probing the January 6 Capitol attack
Bannon argued to the panel that Donald Trump's lawyers have instructed him not to testify on the grounds of executive privilege. But the panel says there is no ground for such an exemption because Bannon was not working for the administration at the time of the attack
The full floor vote is expected to pass will full Democrats support and some from Republicans, including the two GOP members on the nine-member panel – anti-Trump Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming (left) and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois (right)
After the vote Thursday, the matter will be sent to acting U.S. Attorney for DC Channing Phillips who will decide whether to bring criminal contempt charges against Bannon
The entire process could take several months to play out, which will hinder the congressional probe – but Democrats feel the action must be taken to preserve the authority of the panel and preserve the integrity of the investigation.
The 9/11-style committee crafted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to probe the January 6 riot voted unanimously on Tuesday evening to hold Bannon in contempt, which then led to a House Rules Committee vote on Wednesday for a procedure for the House to hold a full floor vote on holding Bannon in contempt of Congress.
Justice officials, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, will decide if they will prosecute Bannon for refusing to comply with the subpoena to testify.
Garland testified Thursday at an oversight hearing before the House Judiciary Committee and so far was asked at least one question about the impending Bannon case – and the attorney general is likely to yield more about the DOJ's prosecution of January 6 defendants.
So far, more than 600 people have been charged in the attack and it's expected more cases will come in the next few months.
Bannon's lawyer told the committee that Donald Trump's lawyers have instructed Bannon not to testify on the grounds of executive privilege. But the panel says Trump has never formally asserted any executive privilege claims to the committee.
The House Select Committee (pictured) probing the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters voted unanimously on Tuesday to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress
The panel said Bannon's testimony is paramount, claiming he may have known ahead of time about 'extreme events' on January 6 (pictured). In a January 5 podcast, Bannon said: 'All hell is going to break loose tomorrow'
They also note that Bannon, a longtime Trump ally and former aide to the ex-president, was not working in the administration at the time of the attack – therefore they claim there are no grounds for executive privilege in this case.
Trump and Bannon were still in close communication following the November 2020 election.
The panel said Bannon's testimony is paramount to the investigation.
In a Monday report, they argued that Bannon made statements suggesting he knew ahead of time about 'extreme events' on January 6, when Congress was scheduled to certify Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election against Trump.
In a January 5 podcast, Bannon said: 'All hell is going to break loose tomorrow.'
On Wednesday, Bannon asked Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of
