BREAKING: Chairman @BennieGThompson announces the Select Committee will move forward with proceedings to refer Mr. Bannon for criminal contempt. Read the full statement: https://t.co/NzwmvR09pa
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) October 14, 2021
h/t Yarrow
Chairman Bennie G. Thompson: STATEMENT ON COOPERATION OF WITNESSES
Oct 14, 2021
Bolton, MS—Chairman Bennie G. Thompson today made the following statement:“Mr. Bannon has declined to cooperate with the Select Committee and is instead hiding behind the former President’s insufficient, blanket, and vague statements regarding privileges he has purported to invoke. We reject his position entirely. The Select Committee will not tolerate defiance of our subpoenas, so we must move forward with proceedings to refer Mr. Bannon for criminal contempt. I’ve notified the Select Committee that we will convene for a business meeting Tuesday evening to vote on adopting a contempt report.
“The Select Committee will use every tool at its disposal to get the information it seeks, and witnesses who try to stonewall the Select Committee will not succeed. All witnesses are required to provide the information they possess so the Committee can get to the facts. We’re grateful to the many individuals who are voluntarily participating and to witnesses who are complying with subpoenas, including several who met the deadline to begin producing materials to the Select Committee. We’re moving ahead quickly to get answers for the American people about what happened on January 6th and help secure the future of American democracy.”
Background:
Any person who willfully refuses to provide testimony or documents subpoenaed by Congress, including committees of the House, is potentially liable for contempt of Congress under 2 U.S.C. §§ 192, 194. Contempt of Congress is a crime that may result in a fine and between one and twelve months imprisonment.
Contempt of Congress begins with a “formal action” by the Select Committee, i.e., a business meeting at which a contempt report is adopted. If a witness fails to appear, produce documents, or refuses to answer any question “pertinent to the question under inquiry,” the Select Committee then writes a report documenting the inquiry, the attempts to accommodate the witness’s production or testimony, and the failure by the witness to appear, produce, or answer a pertinent question. The report also contains the text of the resolution recommending the full House hold the witness in contempt.
After the Select Committee has adopted a contempt report, it is referred to the House for a vote and, upon its adoption, the Speaker certifies the report to the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Under 2 U.S.C. § 194, following such certification it is the “duty” of the United States Attorney to “bring the matter before the grand jury for its action.”
Denali
At last!
The Moar You Know
Susan McDougal. Yes it can be done, and should be. She did a year and a half in prison. Eight months in solitary. Throw that in the face of every Republican you hear bitching about this.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Listening to MSNBC, and John Heilemann has made seven references in his three minutes or so comment about what trump et al are doing– trying to cast 1/6 as a day of great patriotism– and he has made seven references to “the President” while referring to trump. Talking heads do this all the time. Drives me crazy.
NotMax
Awaiting the pilgrimage to Mar-a-lago and the throaty shouts of “Sanctuary!”
//
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@The Moar You Know: on a judge’s order for contempt of court, she wasn’t convicted. When the case finally came to trial she was acquitted
West of the Rockies
I would be okay with Bannon pulling a Breitbart. He brings nothing good to humanity. He is a waste of oxygen.
satby
Remember, Bannon is only free right because tfg pardoned him, or he might still be in the slammer. No protection from the executive branch now.
Ken
Does this mean Bannon is now a fugitive, and anyone can arrest him for the bounty?
Or is he an outlaw, and completely outside the protection of the laws?
andy
Accountability- the conservative’s absolute favorite word that must never ever apply to them if they can help it. A few days in the tank and Bannon will be screaming to testify if the Committee promises him whiskey.
dmsilev
@Ken: I think that only works if he aids and abets someone getting an abortion in Texas.
bbleh
As long as Biden / Garland ensure the skids are properly greased so that the indictment and trial and any appeals get fast action by DOJ. Otherwise this will drag on for far longer than the fortitude or attention-span of the Dems in Congress.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’ll be curious to see the votes of the Rs who voted to impeach but aren’t named Cheney or Kinzinger on this. Upton, Newhouse, Herrera-Beutler, Rice, Gonzalez, Meijer, Katko, and Valadao. The last two are from districts Biden won pretty handily.
bbleh
@Ken: @dmsilev: Also unclear whether it applies to any Constitutional Citizen exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Omnes Omnibus
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: She was being held on civil contempt grounds. She could have walk out of jail at my time if she agreed to testify.
SpaceUnit
I have a feeling this is going to drag out for a bit. Bannon is claiming that his refusal to comply is based on an assertion of executive privilege by a former president, so it will have to get argued in court.
I hope he ends up before a very cranky judge though.
trollhattan
@Ken:
Your query can be answered by this simple test: Has he had, or helped anybody else to have, an abortion? If yes, arrest the Bannon!
trollhattan
@SpaceUnit:
Is it racist of me to hope said judge is also Jewish?
West of the Rockies
@SpaceUnit:
May he face humiliations galore.
Ken
@trollhattan: Was Bannon the one who gave his pregnant mistress an abortifacient without her knowledge, or have I confused him with another Trump aide?
dmsilev
@Ken: I think that was one of the Millers. Not Stephen, one of the other ones.
Suzanne
@Ken:
Only the best people.
God.
SpaceUnit
@trollhattan:
Not in my book.
germy
@Ken:
That was roundface Jason Miller
WaterGirl
@The Moar You Know: Contempt of court is different from Contempt of Congress, so there are differences but it still seems like the Jan 6 commission has some teeth.
germy
thread:
Area Substacker tries arguing with an expert on the subject.
Jeffro
@Ken: you’re thinking of Jason Miller, I think
ETA faster typists got there first
WaterGirl
@Ken: I think that was Miller. No, the other one, Jason Miller.
dr. bloor
@SpaceUnit: Unfortunately, it will almost certainly be argued at several levels of court. All Bannon needs to do is stall with motions and appeals, and bank on the House flipping next year.
New Deal democrat
News Of The Future
“Supreme Court, per curium, January 16, 2023: The term of the prior Congress having expired, the appeal by the Defendant Bannon from the DC Circuit’s upholding the United State’s Motion to Proceed to Trial for criminal Contempt of Congress is hereby dismissed as moot. The charges shall be dismissed. IT IS SO ORDERED.”
“Justice Breyer, dissenting . . . .”
Ken
That’s OK, if we all type “Trump aide Jason Miller, who gave his pregnant mistress an abortifacient without her knowledge” enough, he’ll get Santorumed.
West of the Rockies
@germy:
Yes, the chinless wonder.
WaterGirl
@dr. bloor: Bannon wasn’t in the executive branch – to claim Executive Privilege, which even if you were part of the Executive, lies with the office and not the former office holders, is ridiculous!
MazeDancer
@The Moar You Know:
Gotta say I scream: “What about Susan McDougal?”? often
SpaceUnit
@dr. bloor:
Yeah, that’s what I see happening too. Gonna take a while.
Josie
@WaterGirl: It really is difficult to keep track of all these misogynist assholes, isn’t it? So easy to get them mixed up.
dr. bloor
@WaterGirl: Absolutely. Just watch how long it takes to conclude the obvious.
germy
bbleh
@WaterGirl: Lol. A brilliant epitaph. “No, the other one.”
SpaceUnit
Dammit, it just started snowing here. Nooooo! !! I’m not ready for this crap yet.
germy
trollhattan
Oh mah stars, I do declare the good senator from South Carolina is having another a case of the vapahs. This time it’s Gucci Brazilians!
NB an economic migration is stacks of hundreds marching across a vast wasteland.
Another Scott
@SpaceUnit: No, as I understand it anyway, he’s not claiming that TFG has claimed Executive Privilege. He’s saying that he **might**.
They tried to run out the clock with the same nonsense when TFG was in office. It won’t work this time, and Biden has already said No.
“Claim or Claim Not, there is no Might.”
Grrr…
Cheers,
Scott.
germy
In this photo the attacker wears the modern fascist uniform: blue suit with red tie.
germy
@trollhattan:
Lindsey’s just jealous.
catclub
@Denali: no, you are first.
Lapassionara
I wish the committee would have some public hearings. I remember being riveted to the TV during the Watergate hearings. They went on for months. What gives with this behind the scenes stuff?
Central Planning
IANAL, but isn’t the privilege with the President, not the person? Since Biden has decided to release all sorts of information from January 6, wouldn’t he be the person that would say ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ to the claim of privilege?
SpaceUnit
@Another Scott:
I hope you’re right. And I’m not claiming that this strategy will work, just that it’s going have to play out in court.
NotMax
@trollhattan
Trail of flairs.
//
Lapassionara
@trollhattan: I think Lindsay is just projecting. In any event, we do need more workers in the hospitality industry. More people with fashion sense should be a plus, in my view.
Roger Moore
@germy:
He must have an excellent barber, because there’s no way he can stay that well shaved without looking in a mirror at least once a day.
catclub
Bannon will testify if being in jail kills his fundraising.
catclub
There are laws, which look extremely stupid now, that give ex- presidents a huge amount of say-so on release of said president’s papers.
Another Scott
@bbleh: There’s a fairly big Twitterer named Matthew Gaetz (IIRC) that explicitly said (for at least a while) he wasn’t that other guy. Can’t find the handle at the moment…
Cheers,
Scott.
germy
@Another Scott:
His last name is Gertz.
sab
@Ken: Jason Miller?
bbleh
@Central Planning: Executive Privilege as I understand it is an invention of the courts to protect the Constitutional interest of the Executive and hence inheres in the office of the Presidency, not in any particular President (other than the one holding the office at the time).
Another Scott
@germy: Ah! Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
germy
@catclub:
If Bannon is locked up he’ll have a horrible case of delirium tremens.
JoyceH
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I caught that and tweeted at Heilemann in real time. We should do that to everyone who offends. It’s habit, but they need to get over it.
trollhattan
@NotMax: @Lapassionara:
I do believe it’s a major plus to have more folks at our high-end hospitality businesses who can speak fluent Portuguese. English and Spanish-speaking folks are a dime a dozen, we need to expand our customer base! Who better than stylish Brazilians?
trollhattan
@germy: Pruno to the rescue.
JoyceH
@Another Scott: His last name is Gertz but he keeps getting mistaken for the other guy.
sab
@SpaceUnit: Ha ha. It’s sunny and 84 here in flyover country.
NotMax
@germy
Also regionally known as that other department store.
:)
Baud
Wasn’t Bannon on the hook for some state crimes too?
Mike in NC
Tuesday is too long to wait. Have the US Marshals cuff the scruffy bastard tomorrow.
SpaceUnit
@sab:
Colorado front range. We go from sweltering 90 degree heat to snow in the blink of an eye. Makes me nuts.
raven
@germy: So is the mayor of Athens!
WaterGirl
@trollhattan: As a rule of thumb, if Lindsey Graham is unhappy then I figure the Biden administration is doing something very right.
edit: I love this on the merits, also.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: Yes, I believe Biden had to give an answer, which he has done. And Trump has 30 days to respond to Biden’s answer.
There’s a whole process, but it’s not that long, and Trump is gonna lose this one.
Baud
@trollhattan:
I look forward to Carnival in Connecticut next year.
Poe Larity
Southlake (TX) school leader tells teachers to balance Holocaust books with ‘opposing’ views
The Overton Window is a lie
WaterGirl
@Central Planning: Yes. See my answer below at #71.
NotMax
@Baud
Bridgeport bossa nova?
Baud
@Poe Larity:
The Jews should have sent the Nazis to death camps?
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: Thanks for the correction and amplification.
Biden’s second letter to the Archivist of the United States.
tl;dr – TFG did claim EP on some documents. How that affects Bannon’s claim (which seems specious to me) dunno (he may be trying to say that TFG is thinking about claiming EP on other stuff).
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@NotMax:
The Girl from
IpanemaStamford.Scout211
Moderna boosters are a go. Link
Another Scott
@Baud: The Girl from
IpanemaStamfordNorth Grosvenordale.Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: I wonder if Biden expected that to happen earlier today and that’s why they scheduled the last-minute talk by Biden in which he didn’t really seem to be saying anything new.
New Deal democrat
@Central Planning: “Since Biden has decided to release all sorts of information from January 6, wouldn’t he be the person that would say ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ to the claim of privilege?”
Biden can say whatever he pleases, and then the Courts get to rule on whether they agree with him or not. And the courts can move at lightning speed or a snail’s pace, as they and only they get to choose.
People think we have three co-equal branches of government. We do not. The Supreme Court gets the last word and can issue Orders to the Executive Branch to take or not take action, and to the Congress to reformulate or strike down laws as they please.
Kent
@Poe Larity: So what is the other side to a book on the Holocaust? Mein Kampf?
Another Scott
RollCall:
Because of course he has…
Cheers,
Scott.
Old School
@Poe Larity:
The article reads to me that suggestion was her interpretation of the new Texas law. It doesn’t seem like she was saying hearing the opposing view was necessarily a good idea, only that is was required.
Matt McIrvin
@trollhattan: Are we supposed to be scared of that for some reason?
Renie
@Poe Larity: Kids will be forced to read David Irving book?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Short travel distance than Rio.
NotMax
OT.
They’re putting guns on robot dogs now.
surfk9
@Another Scott: Seems to me they could re-purpose an existing grand jury for that task. They have lots of Jan 6 grand juries operating at the moment
trollhattan
@Matt McIrvin:
Lemme see: they talk funny, they play something called futebol where the bol is a sphere and not pointy, they break into dance for no obvious reason, they hold epic parties outdoors. Yep, scary folks.
Another Scott
Virginia peeps, and everyone interested:
(via LOLGOP)
Cheers,
Scott.
J R in WV
@Poe Larity:
Having read the linked article, I see that The Bible, showing only a single viewpoint on the religious foundation of the entire world, is no longer allowed in Southlake Schools.
Also, racism is required to be presented in a positive light, as opposed to calling out the Confederacy and slavery as unhumane and cruel. And the the real history of the Holocaust must be balanced with anti-Semitic texts popular during the Third Reich of that nice man, Mr. Adolph Hitler, as reported by the FTFNYT.
I have a CD of work songs recorded at Angola, black men enslaved by the State. Hard to believe, slavery never ended down there in LA.
raven
@trollhattan: Ever see “Central Station”?
SpaceUnit
@NotMax:
Holy Crap. Obviously these guys have never watched a movie.
Steve in the ATL
@NotMax: I have a robot golden retriever. Its only settings are “sleep” and “eat”.
Kent
@Renie: David Irving isn’t the opposite viewpoint. He just denies that it happened. The opposite view point would be Mein Kampf and the idea that the Jews, Gays, and Gypsy got what they deserved.
Ken
Curse my relatively young, relatively healthy body and my work-from-home job!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL: If it eats, it may not be a robot.
Ken
There’s a fixpack that adds “drool”.
Villago Delenda Est
Haul the motherfucker in in irons.
Roger Moore
@Another Scott:
I don’t see how Bannon would be affected by claims of executive privilege for 1/6, since he wasn’t in the government at the time. There’s no plausible way to stretch the concept of executive privilege to cover people who aren’t part of the government.
debbie
@germy:
Who was meeting with Bolsanaro when the huge numbers of Haitians showed up at the border, no?
debbie
@germy:
The irony of his being brought down by a Mexican!
WaterGirl
@Steve in the ATL: Good one!
debbie
@Poe Larity:
Toss ’em a biography of Charles Lindburgh.
dr. bloor
@Roger Moore: Alas, many of the federal judges Moscow Mitch and TFG pried into office last term are too legally ignorant to grasp that point, and the remaining judges are too authoritarian and corrupt to care.
sab
@SpaceUnit: I remember driving through Colorado mountains in a snowstorm early in September many years ago.
Mousebumples
@Scout211:
@WaterGirl: Pharmacist nit-picking – this is only a recommendation. Not a full go until ACIP votes (next week Thursday, i think)… Or in the case of Pfizer, until overruled by… FDA chair, i think?
Captain C
@trollhattan: So is Senator Huckleberry just making shit up like McCarthy or could he be so far gone that he actually believes this?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@dr. bloor:
Since when are you so doom and gloom?
Scout211
@Mousebumples:
Yes, thank you for the correction. I posted that link and then read the whole story. This is the first step and tomorrow the same panel is reviewing the J&J booster. Next week we should hear the official recommendations.
rumpole
This could go a whole bunch of ways. The criminal contempt provision is a misdemeanor, with a max time of one year. He will not get a year. And remember too that MacDougal refused to answer questions from the grand jury … that’s why she got locked up. So Bannon could still show up (was a mistake not to and just be uncooperative; could take five and litigate for years). His letter was so frivolous that it’s an invitation to criminal contempt.
The crime is fully baked now; he can’t walk away from it. The clock’s ticking on ’22. The sooner they bring this case, the more likely it is that he’s in the hoosegow. (What McCarthy et al are going to do with this power is terrifying.).
ian
@trollhattan:
That may be some of the dumbest arguments on immigration I have ever heard.
Wealthy people (yes, even Brazilians) can afford plane tickets and travel visas. They would not walk across the border, they would fly here and overstay their visa. If they can afford designed clothes and gucci stuff, they can afford plane tickets.
Mousebumples
@Scout211: no worries. As a member of #TeamModerna, and eligible for a booster (*under Pfizer guidelines), I’ve been waiting eagerly for more info.
sab
@Mousebumples: CNN says CDC needs to sign off and their pre-scheduled meeting is Oct 21.
dww44
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I know , I know: it’s a dead thread but i was in my car and had Nicole’s show on and heard Heileman say this all those times. I thought when she came on she’d say but you were referring to TFG, right? Didn’t happen. Pissed me off. And yes, they do it all the time. Make the mistake of referring to Trump as President. We don’t need any jinxing from our very own side.
dkinPa
@Another Scott: Thanks for the link; I just donated.
Kosh III
There is no guarantee Justice will ask for an indictment.
Why can’t the House vote on Contempt of Congress, pass it, then Peolsi sends the sergeant-at-arms of the House to drag his butt off to jail. It’s one of the powers of the Speaker.