January 6 committee votes to hold Steve Bannon in contempt

The Jan. 6 committee will vote to hold Bannon in contempt. Here’s what we know

The committee, led by Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., voted unanimously.

“Mr. Bannon stands alone in his complete defiance of our subpoena,” Thompson said at the hearing. “That’s not acceptable. No one in this country, no matter how wealthy or how powerful, is above the law.”

Now that the report has been approved by the committee, the contempt report of criminal charges will now go to the full House for a vote. If it is approved there, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will send it to the Justice Department, who has final say on prosecuting Bannon.

His lawyers requested Monday night a one-week delay of Tuesday’s contempt vote after Trump filed a lawsuit Monday suing the Jan. 6 select committee to block the disclosure of White House documents, describing the panel’s demand as a “vexatious, illegal fishing expedition.”

The delay was denied by the committee.

More:Trump sues Jan. 6 panel to block document disclosure

“The only basis for your request is yesterday’s filing of litigation by Trump,” Thompson wrote. He called the committee’s investigation “extremely important and urgent for the nation, and further delay in compliance” by Bannon undermines the committee’s ability to “timely complete its essential responsibilities.”

What does that mean, and what powers does Congress have?Trump pressured DOJ to overturn election results 9 times, Senate panel says

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a member of the committee, told USA TODAY last week that if other witnesses also ignore their subpoenas, the committee could pursue holding others in contempt as well, saying, “We’ll take each case on their individual merits, but nobody has the right to blow off the Congress of the United States.”

Before he left office, Trump pardoned Bannon, who was awaiting trial for allegedly defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in the “We Build the Wall” GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign that raised $25 million.

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Contributing: Kevin Johnson

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