WASHINGTON: Steve Bannon’s charge of contempt of Congress is the nation’s first since 1983, and his appearance in federal court on Monday marked one of the politically worst and least-used powers of US lawmakers. Provides a rare glimpse.
The last successful prosecution reaches all the way to Watergate and beyond when G. Gordon Liddy and Richard Kleindienst are indicted and convicted, respectively, for refusing to answer Congressional questions.
Bannon is facing federal charges for refusing a House subpoena to tell Congress about the lead-up to the January 6 Capitol attack on President Donald Trump to obstruct authentication of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.
The last indictment three decades ago was less historic: a federal environmental official under President Ronald Reagan failed to heed a House subpoena. The official who headed the Superfund, Rita M. LaValle, would be acquitted of the contempt charge, but was later convicted of lying to Congress. He was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $10,000.
Defendant LaValle was a member of the Republican administration, while the Democrats controlled the House. And the Justice Department has been wary of prosecuting cases when the White House and the House of Representatives are controlled by opposing political parties.
While the (contempt) law doesn’t differentiate in any way between a Republican or Democratic president or Congress, it breaks down along those lines, said Stan Brand, who served as a former House counsel when lawmakers held the then – Referred to EPA chief. US Department of Justice for criminal charges.
Prior to that case, most cases of contempt of Congress were in relation to the House Un-American Activities Committee, but many of them were eventually overturned due to procedural failures.
Currently, Democrats control the House and the White House as lawmakers investigate the worst attack on the US Capitol in two centuries, which sparked protests at the White House with Republican Trump.
But despite the unique circumstances prevailing, the prosecution of these charges relies on a law that has not proven convictions in decades and litigation can take years.
Historically, if you look at the records of these types of cases in the late 50s, 60s, even 40s, many of them were dismissed by courts for technical shortcomings. , the brand said.
It is not that these cases are complicated, but they are difficult to make, he said.
In 1982, while Brandt was House counselor, a subcommittee held in contempt the then-EPA chief Anne Gorsuch Burford, the mother of then-Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, at the direction of then-President Reagan Was. Its agencies try to enforce the law requiring the cleaning of hazardous waste dumps. The Justice Department declined to pursue the charges and filed suit to block further action on the contempt referral.
In the Obama administration, the department declined to prosecute then-Attorney General Eric Holder and former IRS officer Lois Lerner following contempt referrals from the Republican-led House. And the George W. Bush Justice Department declined to indict Harriet Mears after a former White House attorney defied a subpoena in the Democratic investigation into the mass shootings of United States attorneys.
In all, the House has instituted five criminal contempt and three civil contempt proceedings against executive branch officials since 2008. In each instance of criminal contempt citation, the executive branch refused to refer the charges to a grand jury.
Brand said the obstacles past committees have faced is that the Justice Department has historically not prosecuted executives who were instructed by the president to increase executive privileges.
That, he said, is not necessarily the case with Bannon, where courts must define the limits of executive privilege and if vested presidential power protects the capacity of former White House aides and external aides of the president.
Bannon, 67, was charged Friday with two counts of criminal contempt — one for refusing to appear for congressional statements and another for refusing to provide documents in response to committees’ summons.
His indictment comes as the second expected witness, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows defied his own summons from the committee on Friday, and Trump resumes his legal battle to withhold documents and testimony about the rebellion. carried forward.
Bannon did not file a plea during Monday’s hearing and was released without bail. He is to appear in court again on Thursday.
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Associated Press writers Marie Claire Jalonik, Michael Balsamo and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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