WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - A US congressional committee probing the deadly Jan 6 US Capitol attack voted unanimously on Tuesday (Oct 19) in favour of contempt-of Congress charges against Steve Bannon, the longtime aide to former president Donald Trump.
The seven Democratic and two Republican members of the House of Representatives Select Committee approved a report recommending the criminal charge by a 9-0 vote, calling it "shocking" that Mr Bannon refused to comply with subpoenas seeking documents and testimony.
Approval of the report paved the way for the entire House to vote on whether to recommend contempt charges. That vote is set for Thursday, when the full Democrat-controlled chamber is expected to approve the report.
A spokesman for the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said prosecutors there would "evaluate the matter based on the facts and the law" if the full House approves the recommendation.
"It's a shame that Mr Bannon has put us in this position. But we won't take 'no' for an answer," Representative Bennie Thompson, the panel's chairman, said in his opening remarks.
Before leaving office in January, Mr Trump pardoned Mr Bannon of charges he had swindled the Republican president's supporters. Mr Trump has urged former aides subpoenaed by the panel to reject its requests, claiming executive privilege.
Mr Bannon, through his lawyer, has said he will not cooperate with the committee until Mr Trump's executive privilege claim is resolved by a court or through a settlement agreement.
At Tuesday's meeting, Republican Representative Liz Cheney, the select committee's vice-chair, said: "Mr Bannon's and Mr Trump's privilege arguments do appear to reveal one thing, however. They suggest that President Trump was personally involved in the planning and execution of Jan 6. And we will get to the bottom of that."
Mr Thompson said Mr Bannon "stands alone" among those subpoenaed in his refusal to cooperate.
More than 670 people have been charged with taking part in the riot, the worst attack on the US government since the War of 1812. The select committee has issued 19 subpoenas.
"It's shocking to me that anyone would not do everything in their power to assist our investigation," Mr Thompson said.
Mr Trump has urged Mr Bannon and other former aides subpoenaed by the committee to reject its requests, claiming executive privilege.
The former president filed a lawsuit on Monday, alleging the committee made an illegal, unfounded and overly broad request for his White House records.
The White House has argued that Mr Trump has no legitimate privilege claim.
"The former president's actions represented a unique - and existential - threat to our democracy that can't be swept under the rug," said spokesman Michael Gwin. "The constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself."
Legal experts also say Mr Trump, as the former president, cannot lawfully use executive privilege to block subpoenas issued by the House committee.
The committee in a report made public on Monday argued that Mr Bannon's testimony and document production are crucial to the investigation, saying that Mr Bannon made statements suggesting he knew ahead of time about "extreme events" on Jan 6, when the US Congress was scheduled to certify Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election.
Mr Bannon, according to the report, said, "All hell is going to break loose tomorrow", the day before thousands of Trump supporters descended on the Capitol building, attacking police and raiding congressional offices, in an attempt to overturn Mr Trump's election defeat, which Mr Trump falsely claimed was the result of widespread fraud.
Four people died on the day of the assault, and one Capitol police officer died the next day of injuries sustained in defence of the seat of Congress. Hundreds of police officers were injured and four have since taken their own lives.
The committee's vote could be followed quickly by a full vote in the House, congressional aides said.
The committee, was created by House Democrats, against the wishes of most Republicans.
Just two of the committee's nine members, Representatives Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, are Mr Trump's fellow Republicans.
Both have criticised the former president, which prompted Republican House members to remove Ms Cheney, daughter of former vice-president Dick Cheney, from her leadership position.
The US Supreme Court said in 1821 that Congress has "inherent authority" to arrest and detain recalcitrant witnesses on its own, without the Justice Department's help. But it has not used that authority in nearly a century.
In 1927, the high court said the Senate acted lawfully in sending its deputy sergeant at arms to Ohio to arrest and detain the brother of the then-attorney general, who had refused to testify about a bribery scheme known as the Teapot Dome scandal.
After Mr Trump asked aides not to cooperate with the investigation, Mr Bannon argued that he was shielded from the select committee's subpoenas by executive privilege, a legal principle that protects many White House communications.
However, legal experts - and the committee - dispute that argument.
"Mr Bannon has now wilfully failed to both produce a single document and to appear for his scheduled deposition. The Select Committee believes that this willful refusal to comply with the Subpoena constitutes a violation of federal law," Mr Thompson, said in a letter to Mr Bannon's attorney.
"No one in the United States of America has the right to blow off a subpoena by a court or by the US Congress," panel member Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, told reporters after Tuesday's meeting.
Mr Biden has also said the Justice Department should prosecute people who defy subpoenas.
There have been at least 600 arrests in connection with the assault, and the select committee has issued more than a dozen subpoenas.
Multiple courts, state election officials and members of Mr Trump's own administration have rejected Mr Trump's claims of election fraud as false.
