The former advisor of former President Donald Trump Steve Bannon has recently been indicted for contempt of Congress. He will now face criminal charges after a recent deposition. According to the Department of Justice, Bannon has been charged with not attending a required deposition scheduled at the House Select Committee. Today, the House Select Committee is currently investigating the January 6th attack made by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capital. As well as not showing up for a required deposition, Steve Bannon is also being indicted for not providing documents to the committee upon a requested subpoena.
While Bannon is being charged with contempt of congress, there is no arraignment scheduled. A recent press release revealed that the subpoena stated that the committee “believed Bannon had key information pertaining to the January 6th event.” The former aid to former President Donald Trump is now a private citizen since leaving the White House in 2017. In October, the House voted by a margin of 229-202 which made Bannon liable for his actions.
There were several congress representatives in the Republican party that decided on charging Bannon for not complying with their requests made by the subpoena. The Attorney General Merrick Garland stated on Friday that the charges reflect the commitment of the Department of Justice to comply with federal laws. Garland made a statement that indicates his commitment to enforcing the laws of the United States when it comes to cooperating with Congress. He said “He has promised to follow all of the laws governing the United States, oversee the Justice Department employees that everyone will demonstrate to Americans the he and his department will honor the policies through their words and actions of following all of the nation’s laws and rules as well as following the facts and provide justice through the nation’s legal system.” Merrick Garland also said that “Today’s charges are a reflection of how the Justice Department commits to these specific principles.”
The U.S. attorney’s office announced the indictment and provided a confirmation for the reason behind these charges on Bannon. U.S. attorney General Mathew Graves said “He and the Justice Department have made an indictment of Steve Bannon on the basis of non compliance with an issued subpoena by Congress.” He also revealed that Bannon is also being indicted for his failure to submit documents for the committee to review as well as attending the deposition that he was requested to make during the past month.
The indictment reveals that Steve Bannon refused to appear in court and provide testimony that was required by the subpoena. It was also revealed that Bannon refused to provide documents that were required to comply with the subpoena according to Graves. While the charges by the grand jury are significant, it is very unlikely that Bannon will go to prison. In fact an individual has not been sent to prison on charges of contempt of congress in over four decades. Even if Bannon were to be convicted for contempt of Congress, the charges are not likely to provide any significant information that the committee is looking to obtain from Steve Bannon.
With the recent charges of Steve Bannon now made, Mark Meadows who served as the chief of staff under Donald Trump can also be liable for similar charges in the near future. He can be charged with not complying with the subpoena of the Committee as well. If Meadows were to be convicted of this charge, he could get one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
This recent indictment of Steve Bannon is the latest of many events pertaining to former President Donald Trump’s administration. During the past year, Trump has been going through a number of legal issues and government officials have now begun targeting his advisors in order to obtain information about the January 6th Capital Hill attack. Even with convictions of both Bannon and Meadows, Congress will continue to get the information it wants in order to find out the truth about the motivation and planning of the attack this past January.
