Former Trump campaign co-manager Steve Bannon has now subpoenaed both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the January 6 Committee.
Bannon filed the subpoenas in a last ditch effort to try and avoid contempt of Congress charges for failing to comply with the January 6 committee. The filings come just days after Trump’s economic advisor Peter Navarro was arrested and placed in handcuffs on similar charges.
So far in the case Bannon has refused to testify and to produce documents, the same issues that came up for Navarro. While this would amount to two charges of contempt, Bannon has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Steve Bannon’s legal team has issued 16 subpoenas to try and freeze the case so far. The subpoenas targeted all nine members of the select committee, three committee staffers and General Counsel for the House of Representatives Douglas Letter. The conservative media mogul also subpoenaed various House Democratic leaders, including Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Rep. Jim Clyburn.
One of Steve Bannon’s attorney’s David Schoen, said of the Committee’s targeting of his client, “I believed from the start that it’s a purely political motive going after Bannon.”
He continued saying the attacks on Bannon actually hurt the Committee’s attempts to have him testify, saying, “They’ll never get his testimony now. I have to draw the conclusion that it’s purely a political message. They’re afraid of the message Bannon puts out there.”
His attorneys have also argued that Bannon is protected by Executive Privilege since the true target of the search is Donald Trump who was the sitting President at the time of the riots.
Despite the filings, it is unlikely that the subpoenas from the former head of Breitbart will be effective thanks to the US Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause. This Constitutional protection makes it extremely hard to force Congresspeople to produce evidence or testify on actions that came as part of their legislative activity.
While Bannon’s filings may make a point, they seem to probably be more of an attempt to buy time than an actual plan to end the case against him. Do you think Democrats will ever make him testify? Do you believe he is protected by Executive Privilege despite not serving in the White House at the time of the riots?
