Steve Bannon, a former advisor to President Trump, will begin serving a four-month sentence in federal prison on Monday for contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riot. Bannon’s lawyers argued the subpoena was invalid due to executive privilege, but the court rejected their claims. The Supreme Court denied his last-minute appeal, and he is now set to report to a Connecticut prison.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is pushing to force a vote on holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress and potentially arresting him for refusing to hand over audio recordings of special counsel Robert Hur’s interviews with President Biden. This comes after the House previously held Garland in contempt for the same refusal, but chose to refer him for criminal charges instead of using the more drastic power of inherent contempt.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for failing to produce audio recordings of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Biden. Republicans argue the recordings would provide context on Biden’s state of mind during the handling of classified documents. However, Democrats have dismissed the request as a partisan attempt to politicize the Department of Justice (DOJ). House Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed a contempt resolution, but needs support from all but two Republicans to pass the party-line measure. Republicans also aim to defund the special counsel’s office investigating former President Trump as part of their effort to highlight alleged weaponization of the DOJ by Biden’s administration.
US President Joe Biden has claimed executive privilege over the audio recording of his interview with special counsel Robert Hur, which is the subject of Republican efforts to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Judiciary Committee are planning hearings to recommend that the full House refer Garland to the Justice Department for contempt charges due to the department’s refusal to release the audio. Garland informed Biden that the audio is protected by executive privilege, arguing that releasing it would harm future law enforcement investigations. Assistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte urged lawmakers to avoid a conflict by discontinuing contempt proceedings. White House Counsel Ed Siskel criticized Congress’s request for the recording as politically motivated, suggesting that it could be used to portray Biden negatively in the upcoming election year.
Steve Bannon’s appeal of his contempt of Congress conviction has been denied, meaning he will have to serve a prison sentence for ignoring a subpoena related to the investigation of the January 6th Capitol riot. The US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that granting Bannon’s appeal would hinder Congress’s investigatory powers, and that claiming to have acted on legal advice is not a valid defense. Bannon’s attorney has vowed to appeal the decision, citing concerns about constitutional issues and potential future abuses of executive privilege.
The Supreme Court is set to hear a landmark case regarding the power of Congress to compel testimony from presidential advisors, potentially reshaping the doctrine of executive privilege. Peter Navarro, a former White House advisor, was convicted of contempt of Congress after refusing to testify before the January 6th investigation, invoking executive privilege as instructed by former President Donald Trump. The Court must determine whether Congress had the legal authority to subpoena Navarro and whether substantial issues have been raised in his appeal to warrant his release from prison pending further proceedings. Key legal questions, including the scope of executive privilege, the ability of a sitting president to revoke privilege, and the role of good-faith belief in contempt cases, will be considered.
