Lawmakers are deciding whether to approve the Jan. 6 committee’s recommendation that Steve Bannon be held in criminal contempt of Congress
NOW: House voting on Bannon criminal contempt referral
The House now voting on a resolution to find Steve Bannon, one of former President Trump’s closest allies, in criminal contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol.
The action marks a significant escalation in how far the panel is willing to go to rebuke individuals who refuse to cooperate as it investigates the violent attack that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
If the resolution passes, it would be referred to the Justice Department. Attorney General Merrick Garland would make the final decision on whether to prosecute.
Rep. Schiff to Congress on the Jan. 6 attack: “We were here … We saw the bloody results”
Rep. Adam Schiff, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, recalled the chaos of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack in his remarks today as members debated a resolution declaring Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress.
“Congress is investigating the worst attack on our Capitol in over a century, made worse still by the fact it was carried out by our own people — people who had been misled to believe that their election had been stolen and that violence was now justified. People who are still being misled by a dangerous lie that may lead to even more bloodshed,” Schiff said.
He continued:
“This is not some theoretical matter. We were here. We heard the doors breaking, the glass shattering, the cries from outside the chamber. And we saw the bloody results: the officers injured and those who died.”
The House will soon vote on whether to approve the Jan. 6 committee’s report recommending Bannon, an ally of former President Donald Trump, be held for criminal contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena to appear before the panel.
Members of the committee have said the panel believes Bannon has significant knowledge of the planning around the attack.
Here’s a reminder of the bipartisan lawmakers serving on the Jan. 6 committee
There are nine lawmakers on the Jan. 6 Select Committee. Seven of them are Democrats and two are Republicans.
Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson is the chair of the committee.
Rep. Liz Cheney is the vice chair. She and Rep. Adam Kinzinger are the only two Republicans on the committee. They have defied their party by joining the panel controlled by Democrats, and Cheney even sacrificed her own position in leadership in order to remain vocal and outspoken about the need to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
Other members are Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin, Elaine Luria, Adam Schiff, Pete Aguilar, Stephanie Murphy and Zoe Lofgren.
GOP Rep. Kinzinger urges colleagues to support Bannon criminal contempt referral
From CNN’s Josiah Ryan
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger once again defied his party’s leadership and urged lawmakers to vote to support a recommendation to hold Steve Bannon in contempt, saying the former Trump strategist had shown “scorn” for the congressional subpoena.
Kinzinger went on to suggest that Bannon had displayed “utter contempt” for Americans’ right to know how the Jan. 6 attack on transpired.
“Voting on a criminal contempt resolution is not the position we hoped to be in, but Steve Bannon went out of his way to earn this resolution… and now we must approve it,” Kinzinger said.
The lawmaker representing Illinois is one of just two Republicans to serve on the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Kinzinger went on to say that Bannon showed contempt for both Congress and the American people.
“Mr. Bannon’s willful disregard for the select committee subpoena demonstrates his utter contempt for the American people’s right to know how the attacks on Jan. 6 came about,” said Kinzinger, adding, “No one, and I repeat no one, is above the law, and we need to hear from him.”
Cheney says GOP Rep. Banks has been sending letters to federal agencies signed as Jan. 6 committee member
From CNN’s Annie Grayer
After GOP Rep. Jim Banks spoke on the floor and complained about not being allowed to serve on the Jan. 6 committee, Rep. Liz Cheney called Banks out for sending letters to federal agencies and falsely signing them as ranking member of the committee.
Cheney introduced a letter into the record dated Sept. 16, where she said Banks claimed he was ranking member of the committee.
Cheney is the ranking member of the committee, not Banks.
Banks was initially selected by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to serve on the committee, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vetoed Banks along with GOP Rep. Jim Jordan from serving on the committee.
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney goes after her own party in floor debate of Bannon contempt resolution referral
From CNN’s Annie Grayer
Rep. Liz Cheney, who serves as the GOP vice chair of the House committee investigating Jan. 6, went after members of her own party for downplaying the attack on the Capitol and not believing in the mission of the committee during the debate of Steve Bannon’s criminal contempt referral.
“There are people in this chamber right now who were with me and with the rest of us on that day during that attack. People who now seem to have forgotten the danger of the moment, the assault on the Constitution, the assault on our Congress. People who you will hear argue that there is simply no legislative purpose for this committee for this investigation or for this subpoena,” she said.
Cheney then outlined why the committee needed information from Steve Bannon.
Cheney said the former President knew the riot was happening and took no action to stop it.
“President Trump knew it was happening. Indeed he may have been watching it all unfold on television. And yet he took no immediate action to stop it,” she said.
Rep. Bennie Thompson: Bannon has “led us down this path” of criminal contempt “by refusing to cooperate”
From CNN’s Annie Grayer
Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chairs the House committee investigating Jan. 6, opened the floor debate of the criminal contempt referral of Steve Bannon by saying “we didn’t choose to be here.”
“This isn’t about punishing Steve Bannon,” Thompson said. “But Steve Bannon has led us down this path by refusing to cooperate in any way with our investigation.”
Thompson said a key reason the committee is pursuing criminal contempt with Bannon is to make a point that no one can evade a congressional subpoena.
“We need to make it clear that no person is above the law,” Thompson said.
“We need to take a stand for the select committee’s investigation and for the integrity of this body. What sort of precedent would it set for the House of Representatives if we allow a witness to ignore us flat out without facing any kind of consequences?” Thompson added.
The House is starting debate on the resolution declaring Bannon in contempt. Here’s what happens next.
The House is now starting the one-hour debate period on the actual resolution declaring Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress.
After this debate, the House will vote on the actual Bannon contempt of Congress resolution.
The House gallery advises the final vote is expected between 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET. But remember: timing is fluid.
This will be the last vote for the day in the House.
If the resolution passes, it would be referred to the Justice Department. Attorney General Merrick Garland would make the final decision on whether to prosecute.
The House will soon vote whether to approve a recommendation to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt
From CNN’s Clare Foran, Zachary Cohen and Ryan Nobles
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on whether to approve the Jan. 6 committee’s report recommending Steve Bannon, one of former President Donald Trump’s closest allies, be held in criminal contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the committee investigating the attack on the Capitol.
The action marks a significant escalation in how far the panel is willing to go to rebuke individuals who refuse to cooperate as it investigates the violent attack that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The vote by the full House will set up a referral to the Department of Justice, which would then have to decide whether to prosecute.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday said the Justice Department would review any referral, but at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, he did not say what the department’s decision would be.
“The Department of Justice will do what it always does in such circumstances, we’ll apply the facts and the law and make a decision, consistent with the principles of prosecution,” Garland said.
The House vote comes after the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack formally approved the recommendation Tuesday night. It will stand as a warning to potential witnesses about the consequences of not cooperating with the investigation.
Debate on the House floor is now underway as lawmakers gear up to vote on the rule that will provide for consideration of the contempt resolution. That will be followed by a final vote on the resolution later in the day.
On Tuesday night, members of the committee blasted Bannon for refusing to cooperate with the panel’s probe and warned that he is “isolated” in doing so as other witnesses are working with the panel.
“Our goal is simple: We want Mr. Bannon to answer our questions. We want him to turn over whatever records he possesses that are relevant to the select committee’s investigation,” the committee chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, said in his opening remarks.
Republican Rep Liz Cheney of Wyoming, one of two Republicans on the committee, said during the meeting that “it appears that Mr. Bannon had substantial advance knowledge of the plans for January 6th and likely had an important role in formulating those plans.”
“The American people are entitled to Mr. Bannon’s first-hand testimony about all of these relevant facts,” she said.
Bannon has previously argued that he is unable to cooperate with the committee until matters of executive privilege are resolved by the courts.
His attorney has told the committee that “the executive privileges belong to President Trump” and “we must accept his direction and honor his invocation of executive privilege.”
“The plain fact here is that Mr. Bannon has no legal right to ignore the committee’s lawful subpoena,” Cheney said on Tuesday.
You can read more on what happens next here.
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/yeCSVYkSb04/index.html
