[Epoch Times October 20, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Chen Ting comprehensive report) On Tuesday (October 19), the House committee investigating the Capitol incident on January 6 voted to identify conservative podcast host Stie Steve Bannon’s reluctance to provide documents and testimony is a criminal offence of contempt of Congress.
The resolution is now submitted to the House of Representatives for approval, and because Democrats have a weak majority in the House of Representatives, it is likely to pass the decision in the plenary meeting on Thursday.
If approved by the House of Representatives, the Ministry of Justice will further confirm whether to bring charges against Bannon.
Bannon played an important role in Trump’s 2016 campaign and served as the chief strategist of the White House. After leaving the White House, he became a popular conservative podcast leader.
Bannon did not respond to the English Epoch Times‘ request for comment on the contempt of Congress case.
Last week, Bannon was ordered to attend the committee hearing, but his lawyer said that in accordance with the instructions of Trump’s legal team, Bannon refused to attend testimony or provide relevant supporting documents.
The committee decided that Bannon had no legal position to defy the subpoena. However, Trump lawyers believe that Bannon should not abide by the subpoena, because the information requested by Congress is protected by the president’s executive power. The Trump team also sued the committee, arguing that the request made by the committee was too broad and an “illegal investigation,” and required the court to issue an injunction to prohibit archivists from producing documents.
The committee stated that they wanted to obtain Bannon’s documents and testimony because he had contact with Trump before the January 6 incident. However, at the time of the conversation, Bannon’s identity was a private citizen and was not protected by the president’s executive power.
The committee seemed to believe that Bannon was involved in the preparations for many riots. The resolution stated: “Mr. Bannon seems to have played a multifaceted role in the events of January 6, and the American people have the right to hear his first-hand testimony about his actions.”
The resolution stated that Bannon said on January 5 that tomorrow would be “all hell is going to break loose” (all hell is going to break loose), which seemed to mean that he knew there would be riots the next day.
Last week, when President Biden was asked whether the Justice Department should prosecute those who flouted the committee’s subpoenas, he agreed. The Justice Department responded that it will make its own decision.
A spokesperson for the U.S. District Attorney’s Office said that if the House of Representatives approves the proposal, the District of Columbia Attorney will “evaluate the matter based on facts and the law.”
At present, more than 670 people have been accused of participating in the riots, and the special committee has issued 19 subpoenas. Some of those who helped plan Trump’s rally have already handed in relevant documents and provided testimony.
Reuters, English Epoch Times reporter Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei#
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