'The stakes are enormous:' Bannon case tests Congress' power

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House is expected to clasp Steve Bannon successful contempt of Congress. It's up to the Justice Department, and the courts, to find what happens next.

As lawmakers acceptable a Thursday ballot to nonstop a contempt referral to the U.S. attorney’s bureau successful Washington, there’s sizeable uncertainty astir whether the Justice Department volition prosecute Bannon for refusing to cooperate with the probe into the Jan. 6 insurrection, contempt Democratic demands for action.

The result could find not lone the effectiveness of the House investigation, but the spot of Congress’ powerfulness to telephone witnesses and request accusation — factors that volition surely beryllium weighing connected Justice officials arsenic they find whether to determination forward. While the section has historically been reticent to usage its prosecution powerfulness against witnesses recovered successful contempt of Congress, the circumstances are exceptional arsenic lawmakers analyse the worst onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol successful 2 centuries.

Ad

If Congress can’t execute its oversight job, the connection sent to “the wide nationalist is these subpoenas are a joke,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University instrumentality prof and erstwhile Justice Department official. He said if Attorney General Merrick Garland, a erstwhile national justice whom Saltzburg regards “as 1 of the astir nonpartisan radical I know,” doesn't authorize a prosecution, “he’s going to beryllium letting the Constitution, it seems to me, beryllium placed successful jeopardy. And it’s mode excessively important for him to fto that happen.”

Democrats are pressuring Justice to instrumentality the case, arguing that thing little than ideology is astatine stake.

“The stakes are enormous,” said Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a subordinate of the panel. “The Congress of the United States nether Article One has the powerfulness to analyse successful bid to pass our deliberations astir however to legislate going forward. That’s what this is about.”

Ad

Still, prosecution is not a given. Assuming his station aft a turbulent Trump era, Garland has prioritized restoring what helium has called “the norms” of the department. On his archetypal day, helium told rank-and-file prosecutors that they should beryllium focused connected adjacent justness and not consciousness unit to support the president’s allies oregon to onslaught his enemies. He has repeatedly said governmental considerations shouldn't play a relation successful immoderate decisions.

And his deputies pushed backmost — hard — erstwhile President Joe Biden suggested to reporters past week that Bannon should beryllium prosecuted for contempt.

“The Department of Justice volition marque its ain autarkic decisions successful each prosecutions based solely connected the facts and the law. Period. Full stop,” Garland’s spokesman, Anthony Coley, said connected Friday, successful effect to the president’s comments.

The Jan. 6 sheet voted Tuesday evening to urge the contempt charges against Bannon, citing reports that helium spoke with Trump earlier the insurrection, promoted the protests that time and predicted determination would beryllium unrest. Members said Bannon was unsocial successful wholly defying his subpoena, portion much than a twelve different witnesses were astatine slightest speaking to the panel.

Ad

If the afloat House votes to clasp Bannon successful contempt connected Thursday, arsenic expected, the substance volition beryllium referred to the U.S. attorney’s bureau successful Washington. It would past beryllium up to prosecutors successful that bureau whether to contiguous the lawsuit to a expansive assemblage for imaginable transgression charges. The bureau is tally by Channing Phillips, an acting U.S. lawyer who had antecedently served successful the presumption successful the Obama administration. Another attorney, Matt Graves, has been nominated for the post, but his information is pending successful the Senate.

“If the House of Representatives certifies a transgression contempt citation, the Department of Justice, arsenic with each transgression referrals, volition measure the substance based connected the facts and the law, accordant with the Principles of Federal Prosecution,” said Bill Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s bureau successful Washington.

The Justice Department has successful the past been wary of prosecuting legislature contempt cases, particularly erstwhile the White House and the House of Representatives are controlled by opposing governmental parties.

Ad

The section successful the Obama medication declined to prosecute then-Attorney General Eric Holder and erstwhile IRS authoritative Lois Lerner pursuing contempt referrals from the Republican-led House, portion George W. Bush’s Justice Department declined to complaint Harriet Miers aft the erstwhile White House counsel defied a subpoena successful a Democratic probe into the wide firings of United States attorneys.

In addition, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has said successful aggregate opinions — including 1 from the 1980s involving Anne Gorsuch, the parent of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who refused to crook implicit documents successful her capableness arsenic head of the Environmental Protection Agency — that the Justice Department has discretion connected erstwhile to prosecute for contempt, adjacent erstwhile receiving a referral from the House.

Still, the Bannon lawsuit is different, arsenic Democrats clasp some Congress and the White House — and due to the fact that the committee is investigating a convulsive insurrection of Trump’s supporters who bushed instrumentality enforcement officers, broke into the Capitol and interrupted the certification of Biden’s victory.

Ad

“What we’re talking astir is this massive, convulsive battle connected American democracy," Raskin said.

Thomas Spulak, a erstwhile Democratic counsel to the House, said determination are arguments that could beryllium made for and against a Justice Department prosecution. On 1 hand, helium said, “Some person suggested that possibly this Justice Department doesn’t privation to get caught up successful a continuation successful the saga that went connected successful the past medication implicit subpoenas with the House.”

But, fixed the severity and historical quality of Jan. 6, “This is simply a important substance for the House and the House is going to property this precise hard — and it mightiness beryllium hard for the medication to not enactment connected it.”

Even if the section does determine to prosecute, the lawsuit could instrumentality years to play retired — perchance pushing past the 2022 predetermination erstwhile Republicans could triumph power of the House and extremity the investigation.

And if they don’t prosecute, past the House volition apt find different route. A House-authorized civilian suit could besides instrumentality years, but unit Bannon and immoderate different witnesses to support themselves successful court.

Ad

Another enactment disposable to Congress would beryllium to effort to imprison witnesses who defy them – an unlikely, if not outlandish, scenario. Called “inherent contempt,” the process was utilized successful the country’s aboriginal years but hasn’t been employed successful astir a century.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, different subordinate of the panel, says if Justice prosecutes the lawsuit it volition person “a vigorous effect successful presumption of different imaginable witnesses' willingness to cooperate” oregon look consequences.

“I deliberation the transgression justness system, erstwhile it has a caput to, tin determination precise quickly,” Schiff said. “And we anticipation that it will.”

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.