On October 19, a special committee of the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of arresting Bannon, Trump's former senior strategic adviser, on charges of criminal contempt of court. Video/Beijing News our video
According to CCTV, on October 19, local time in the United States, the special committee of the US House of Representatives, which was responsible for investigating the "Us Capitol riots on January 6", unanimously voted in favor of arresting Steve Bannon, a senior strategic adviser to then US President Trump, for criminal contempt of court.
Earlier, the U.S. House of Representatives Special Committee accused it of "contempt of Congress" and issued a subpoena demanding that Stephen Bannon and four other senior Trump-era officials provide written documents and testify in court. But this time Bannon defied the summons and refused to testify in court.
Bannon, known as the "master" of the White House, was once one of Trump's closest allies and was notorious for concocting a "new Cold War" with China. Will he be sent to jail for "contempt of Congress" this time?
The maximum penalty is a one-year prison sentence of 100,000
Contempt of Congress is a criminal offense that sounds serious, but it's a misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of $100,000 in prison for a year.
The last time he was charged was also a key Cabinet member of the Trump era, Attorney General Barr, who was accused in 2019 of refusing to hand over the full version of the special counsel's report to Congress, but Barr was not sent to prison or fined, and did not turn his face and resign until the end of 2020, after Trump's defeat.
This is not surprising. In the history of the United States, most of the allegations of "contempt of Congress" have been dismissed because the lawsuit is too difficult to fight. According to the relevant procedures, the House of Representatives can file charges without a full vote, but whether to take legal action requires a vote. Even when the House of Representatives votes to take legal action to refer the case to the prosecutor's office, prosecutors are usually cautious.
The most typical case occurred in 1983. At that time, the U.S. House of Representatives ruled that EPA official Rita Ravel had flouted Congress and perjury, and the case was subsequently prosecuted. In the end, the court found her guilty only of perjury, but "contempt of Congress" was not established. Rita Ravel is the only person in the past 42 years to be jailed for a crime related to "contempt of Congress."
Bannon's case may be different
Probably because "contempt for Congress" is nothing, Bannon dares to ignore Congress.
This time, however, Bannon, the "political actuary," may have miscalculated. Because the congressional riots that occurred on January 6, 2021, involve more than contempt for Congress. In the final analysis, "contempt of Congress" is a criminal name for safeguarding the dignity of Congress, and to a certain extent, it is the result of the dispute between the US government and the court. There is political strife in it, which brings a lot of flexibility to the judiciary for the crime of contempt of Congress.
The congressional riots were defined by the Democratic side as treasonous and involved human lives, resulting in the deaths of at least four police officers. That is, there is a bigger net waiting for Bannon behind the "crime of contempt of Congress." The commission of inquiry, for example, determined that Bannon knew "a great deal of information" about the Jan. 6 riots in advance.
Bannon, on the other hand, is famous, but he is now a political "outcast." The congressional riot investigation committee, which includes two Republican lawmakers, also voted in favor of making allegations, has been demonstrated.
On August 20, 2020, Bannon was arrested on suspicion of fraud: raising $25 million in the name of building the wall. Video/Beijing News our video
The case also involves Trump
Bannon's case also involves Trump. Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chairman of the commission of inquiry, said the violence that day was a direct response to Trump's demand that Trump be the one who won the election for those who participated in the Jan. 6 attack.
Cheney went on to say that Trump and Bannon's arguments suggest that "Trump personally participated in the planning and execution of January 6." ”
Of course, from the Bannon case to Trump, the process will be longer and the game will be more complicated.
Perhaps in August 2017 Bannon was fired by Trump, putting a firewall on Trump. After all, the two turned their faces at that time and turned over very undignified.
According to the political book "Fire and Fury", Bannon once expressed deep dissatisfaction with Trump's eldest son, Trump Jr., and son-in-law Kushner, who met secretly at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer, believing that it was treason and "should be reported to the FBI." Bannon also derided Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka, as "stupid as a brick." The exposure of the book was a big reason why Bannon was fired by Trump in August 2017.
After Trump turned his face to Bannon, he insulted Bannon in his usual style on Twitter, nicknamed Bannon a "dirty ghost", saying that Bannon had "cried and begged him to keep his job" and was "a dog abandoned by almost everyone".
It is reasonable to say that the two people will "end up" when they get into this step. But the day before Trump left office, he pardoned 73 people, including Bannon. He was arrested on charges of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall to cover personal expenses. Bannon also argues that he did so to "stop the wall from being built" – a sign of its brazenness.
Cheney said of Trump's possible involvement in the Congressional riots case, "We will pursue it to the end." As the time of the 2022 midterm elections approaches, the investigation of the Congressional riot case is bound to set off a bitter fight in the US political arena, and it may not be just Bannon who is involved.
Contributing Writer: Xu Lifan (Columnist)
Editor: Xu Qiuying
Proofreader: Liu Jun