Steve Bannon indicted by federal grand jury

Jan. 6 committee member Adam Schiff has tweeted his reaction to Steve Bannon’s indictment.

“Let this send a message to all those with knowledge of the attack on our democracy: The days of defying subpoenas with impunity are over. We will expose those responsible for Jan 6. No one is above the law,” he wrote.

Steve Bannon, who was President Trump’s former White House chief strategist, spoke with Trump in December, urging him to focus on Jan. 6 — the date of the official certification on the Electoral College vote by Congress, according to authors Bob Woodward and Robert Costa in their book “Peril.”

“We’re going to bury Biden on January 6th,” Bannon is quoted as saying.

Woodward and Costa also reported that Trump called Bannon following his contentious Jan. 6 meeting with then-Vice President Mike Pence, in which the vice president said he does not have the authority to block certification of Joe Biden’s win.

In its letter to Bannon, the Jan. 6 committee cited communications he had with Trump on Dec. 30, 2020, “and potentially other occasions” in which Bannon reportedly urged the former President “to plan for and focus his efforts on January 6.” The committee also references Bannon’s incendiary comments made on his podcast on Jan. 5, in which he said “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”

What the committee did: The panel announced last month that it was moving forward to hold Bannon in criminal contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena.

The committee sent a letter to Bannon last month rejecting his argument for failing to comply with its subpoena and dismissing his claim of executive privilege, particularly as it relates to his communications with individuals other than Trump, according to a copy obtained by CNN.

Bannon had previously argued that he was unable to cooperate with the committee until matters of executive privilege are resolved by the courts, but his response makes clear the panel believes his “willful refusal to comply with the Subpoena constitutes a violation of federal law.”

The committee voted to adopt a contempt report on Bannon, which outlines the efforts it made to get the witness to comply with the subpoena and the failure by the witness to do so. On Oct. 21, the House voted to approve the Jan. 6 committee’s report recommending Bannon be held for criminal contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena to appear before the panel. The vote by the full House set up a referral to the Department of Justice, which would then have to decide whether to prosecute.

What happened today: A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Bannon for contempt of Congress, the Justice Department announced Friday.

Bannon was charged with one count related to his refusal to appear for a deposition and another related to his refusal to produce documents. Each count carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, the Justice Department said.

Steve Bannon is expected to self-surrender on Monday and appear in court that afternoon, according a source familiar with the matter.

A federal grand jury has indicted Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress after he defied a congressional subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating Jan. 6, the Justice Department announced Friday.

Bannon, 67, has been charged with one contempt count related to his refusal to appear for a deposition and another related to his refusal to produce documents, according to the DOJ.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland who serves on the House committee investigating Jan. 6, reacted to Steve Bannon’s indictment, saying it should serve as a warning shot to other Trump allies.

“There was never any question in my mind,” Raskin said referring to the decision, “and I’m happy that we have a real Department of Justice back in business.”

Raskin said Bannon’s indictment should serve as a warning shot to other Trump allies who are considering defying the committee’s subpoenas.

The federal grand jury’s indictment of Bannon comes as former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows did not show up for his deposition in front of the committee earlier on Friday.

When asked if the news on Bannon affects the committee’s thought process on how to move forward on Meadows, Raskin said members on the committee view each case separately, but that each individual subpoenaed is held to the same standard of the rule of law.

“I’m certain there will be little patience for anyone who is just blowing of congressional subpoenas,” Raskin told CNN, acknowledging that members are not in town this week and will have to wait until next week to officially meet. “We have been moving promptly to respond to defiance to any House subpoenas.”

Steve Bannon, 67, was charged with one count of contempt related to his refusal to appear for a deposition and another related to his refusal to produce documents.

Each count carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, the Justice Department said.

Without an indictment, critics have said, there’s doubt over how much power the House Jan. 6 committee has to compel cooperation from former White House and Trump administration officials. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows failed to appear for a deposition on Friday, sources familiar with the investigation told CNN, setting up a potential showdown that could lead to the panel beginning a criminal referral process against him.

And last week, former Trump Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, who had been subpoenaed, appeared before the committee for more than an hour but declined to answer questions.

Remember: Any criminal case against Bannon could take years to unfold in court, and a successful prosecution isn’t a certainty. Historically, criminal contempt of Congress cases have been derailed by juries sympathetic to the defendants and by appeals rulings.

Bannon’s case is likely to raise novel legal questions about executive privilege and about the House’s ability to enforce its investigative subpoenas when they seek information about the executive branch.

The House has pinned its hopes on the prosecution of Bannon as well, with the committee trying to make Bannon an example of the possible consequences for uncooperative witnesses.

Read the indictment against Bannon here.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger talks to reporters follow a House Republican conference meeting in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on May 12, 2021 in Washington, DC. 

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, called a federal grand jury’s decision to indict Trump adviser Steve Bannon “great news.”

“The reality is, you may not like it. You may not like the investigation. You may think nothing wrong was done, but you’re not going to be able to avoid it, and that is important for the people of the United States to be able to have their voice heard, to be able to get answers through congress,” he continued.

“This is certainly a good thing, and I hope it sends a chilling message to anybody else that’s going to follow through like this,” he said.  

Attorney General Merrick Garland said today’s indictment against former Trump adviser Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress reflects the Department of Justice’s commitment to adhering to the rule of law.

Garland has been under tremendous political pressure to indict Bannon since the House referred the Trump ally to the Justice Department for contempt on Oct. 21.

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against former Trump adviser Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress.

In a release, the Department of Justice said one of the charges stems from “his refusal to appear for a deposition” and another involves “his refusal to produce documents, despite a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.”

Each count has a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, according to the release, as well as a fine of $100 to $1,000.

“A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors,” the release said.

Read the full statement from the Justice Department:

“Stephen K. Bannon was indicted today by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress stemming from his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Bannon, 67, is charged with one contempt count involving his refusal to appear for a deposition and another involving his refusal to produce documents, despite a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol. An arraignment date has not yet been set in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

“Since my first day in office, I have promised Justice Department employees that together we would show the American people by word and deed that the department adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts and the law and pursues equal justice under the law,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today’s charges reflect the department’s steadfast commitment to these principles.”

“As detailed in the indictment, on Sept. 23, 2021, the Select Committee issued a subpoena to Mr. Bannon,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “The subpoena required him to appear and produce documents to the Select Committee, and to appear for a deposition before the Select Committee. According to the indictment, Mr. Bannon refused to appear to give testimony as required by subpoena and refused to produce documents in compliance with a subpoena.”

In its subpoena, the Select Committee said it had reason to believe that Bannon had information relevant to understanding events related to Jan. 6. Bannon, formerly a Chief Strategist and Counselor to the President, has been a private citizen since departing the White House in 2017.

Each count of contempt of Congress carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, as well as a fine of $100 to $1,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.”

Bannon exits the Manhattan Federal Court on August 20, 2020 in New York City.

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment against former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, CNN has learned.

Prosecutors presented an indictment and arrest warrant to a federal magistrate on Friday afternoon, according to CNN reporters in the magistrate courtroom. The judge signed an arrest warrant for an indicted defendant with the initials “SB.”  

A source familiar with the matter confirmed SB was Steve Bannon.

Earlier, CNN reporters saw a US prosecutor from the District of Columbia entering a grand jury room. CNN was able to confirm the grand jury heard evidence about Bannon and his interactions with Congress.