IN-CHARACTER MOVE

Steve Bannon Could Face Contempt Charge for Refusing Subpoena, Jan. 6 Committee Warns

Bannon said he could not cooperate because Trump invoked executive privilege—even though he hasn’t been a White House employee for years.

More than a year after he faced federal charges, Steve Bannon may once again end up in court. Bannon, through his lawyer, told the Jan. 6 select committee that he wouldn’t cooperate with their investigation, citing Trump’s supposed invocation of executive privilege. “Until these issues are resolved, we are unable to respond to your request for documents and testimony,” Robert Costello said in a letter to the committee, per Politico, despite the fact that Bannon hasn’t been an executive branch employee for years. The refusal angered committee heads Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who threatened a criminal contempt referral for those who do not cooperate.

“Though the Select Committee welcomes good-faith engagement with witnesses seeking to cooperate with our investigation, we will not allow any witness to defy a lawful subpoena or attempt to run out the clock, and we will swiftly consider advancing a criminal contempt of Congress referral,” they wrote in a letter. Two other Trump aides—Mark Meadows and Kash Patel—are engaged with the committee, Thompson and Cheney confirmed.