House select committee to vote next Tuesday on Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress

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House select committee to vote next Tuesday on Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress

WASHINGTON - The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol will vote next Tuesday for holding Trump political advisor Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress after he failed to comply with a subpoena.

Committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. said in a statement that Bannon has declined to cooperate with the committee and is instead hiding behind the former President's insufficient, blanket, and vague statements about privileges he has purportedly invoked. We reject his position completely. The committee will not tolerate defiance of our subpoenas, so we need to move forward with proceedings to refer Mr. Bannon for criminal contempt, said Thompson, who said that the vote is scheduled for Tuesday evening.

A lawyer for Bannon said in a letter to the committee Wednesday that the former White House aide would not comply with the subpoena issued by the committee for documents and his testimony. The former Trump adviser had been advised to appear for a deposition on Thursday, but ex-President Donald Trump s counsel advised former aides not to cooperate with the committee.

Thompson said that the committee will use every tool at its disposal to get the information it seeks, and witnesses who attempt to stonewall the Select Committee won't succeed. Once the committee adopted the contempt report next week, it will transfer the report to the house for a vote. Assuming that the Democratic-controlled House adopts it, it will then be referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to bring the matter before the Grand Jury for its action Channing D. Phillips, who was hired as acting U.S. attorney in March for D.C., has served at the Justice Department under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Thompson and Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. said last week that Bannon s ex-White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows and Kashyap Patel, who was top of staff to Trump's defense secretary, were cooperating with the committee, but not Mark Meadows.

The committee has agreed to short postponements of scheduled appearances by Patel and Meadows, because they are cooperating, according to a committee aide.

Separately, because service of former social media chief Dan Scavino s subpoena was delayed, the Select Committee postponed his scheduled deposition, said the aide.

A request for comment by Bannon was not immediately returned. Contempt of Congress can result in a fine and prison sentence between one and 12 months, according to the committee.