Jan. 6 Committee Recommends Contempt Charge for Steve Bannon

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol voted 9-0 Tuesday to recommend holding Stephen Bannon, a onetime adviser to former President Donald Trump, in criminal contempt for defying a congressional subpoena.

The committee’s vote is likely to kick off a legal battle that tests the extent of executive privileges claimed by a former president and whether those protections apply to conversations or advice from private citizens, not just government officials.

“Mr. Bannon will comply with our investigation or he will face the consequences,” said the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.). To other witnesses, he warned: “If you’re thinking of following the path Mr. Bannon has gone down, you’re on notice that this is what you’ll face.”

On Thursday, the full House is expected to vote on certifying the contempt resolution, referring the matter to the Justice Department for potential prosecution. Democrats hold a slim majority in the House.

The Justice Department hasn’t said how it would act on a House referral in Mr. Bannon’s case, but has said as recently as 2015 that it was open to bringing such prosecutions in some circumstances.

In the event of a referral, the Justice Department “will evaluate the matter based on the facts and the law,” said Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.