Steve Bannon’s contempt indictment isn’t all that Trump foes think it is
Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement that former Trump aide Steve Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury for criminal contempt of Congress for flaunting the Jan. 6 committee investigating the attack on the Capitol has led some to believe that this could represent a turning point in the yearslong effort by House Democrats to conduct oversight of the Trump administration.
Don’t count on it.
Criminal contempt is a difficult charge to prosecute, which is one reason why the last referral for criminal contempt of Congress was in 1982, during the Reagan administration. Bannon’s response to the committee was so ham-handed and flimsy that he practically goaded the Justice Department to prosecute him.
Other Trump administration officials—such as former chief of staff Mark Meadows, who defied an order to appear for a deposition on Friday—have taken a more sophisticated approach that would make a prosecution much more difficult. So while the Bannon indictment certainly sends a message to anyone who might defy a congressional subpoena—like “coup memo” author John Eastman or former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark—don’t expect more prosecutions to follow. Smart attorneys can help Meadows and others avoid Bannon’s fate. [Continue reading…]