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It was nearly two years ago when federal prosecutors first filed criminal charges against Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former campaign strategist and White House aide. As regular readers may recall, the political operative was accused at the time of participating in an alleged wall-building scam.
On Jan. 20, 2021, with just hours remaining in his presidency, Trump pardoned Bannon before prosecutors could bring the case to trial.
Last fall, Bannon faced an entirely different set of charges, and this time, they’re not going away nearly as easily. NBC News reported this afternoon:
A federal judge on Wednesday declined to dismiss contempt of Congress charges against former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon. U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols issued his ruling immediately after hearing courtroom argument from federal prosecutors and Bannon’s lawyers. The move clears the way for Bannon’s trial to start July 18, but one member of Bannon’s team said he might seek to have it delayed.
To appreciate the significance of these developments, let’s revisit our earlier coverage and review how we arrived at this point.
Bannon was indicted last November by a federal grand jury, charged with two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions from the House Committee investigating the Capitol riot. One count accused him of refusing to appear for a deposition and the other was for declining to produce documents requested by the committee.
The one thing everyone involved in the process can agree on is that Bannon has important insights related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was in communications with Trump in the runup to the insurrectionist riot, and he reportedly told the outgoing president, “[I]t’s time to kill the Biden presidency in the crib.”
The day before the attack, Bannon seemed to know quite a bit about what was likely to happen, telling his podcast listeners, “All hell is going to break loose tomorrow. Just understand this: All hell is going to break loose tomorrow.... [A]ll I can say is: Strap in. You have made this happen, and tomorrow it’s game day.”
With this in mind, it hardly came as a surprise when the bipartisan House committee investigating the attack issued subpoenas in September 2021, seeking information from key Trump insiders — and Bannon was at the top of the list.
When he refused to comply with the subpoena, the House approved a resolution finding the GOP operative in contempt of Congress. As part of the same process, the Democratic-led chamber referred the matter to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution, and in November 2021, Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury, charged with one count of contempt and another involving his refusal to produce documents, despite a congressional subpoena.
Today, Bannon and his legal defense tried to make the case go away, arguing, among other things, that the Jan. 6 committee’s subpoena wasn’t legitimate.
Judge Nichols — a Trump appointee who joined the bench in 2019 — didn’t buy it.
And that’s ultimately what stands out most for me: A variety of Republicans have gone to a variety of federal courts, trying to convince judges that the Jan. 6 committee isn’t a real committee, and its legal demands don’t deserve to be taken seriously.
Every such effort has failed. It’s a detail to keep in mind the next time GOP officials question the legitimacy of the panel and its investigation.
The House Jan. 6 committee is holding its third public hearing on Thursday, June 16 at 1 p.m. ET. Get expert analysis in real-time on our liveblog at msnbc.com/jan6hearings.