It was earlier this month when the right-wing cop/podcaster Steve BannonAfter suffering a series of legal defeats, he was ordered to report to prison on July 1 to begin a four-month prison sentence. However, as Raw Story noted, some of his allies on Capitol Hill have an idea to keep Bannon free.
Before we delve deeper into the plan, let’s briefly summarize Bannon’s legal situation as it provides some necessary context.
The House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6 attack sent Bannon a subpoena in September 2021. Even then, the severity was clear: the podcaster was told that this was a legal subpoena – not a suggestion – and that failure to comply opened the door to meaningful legal consequences.
Bannon nevertheless refused to cooperate. The House then passed a resolution finding the Republican Party in contempt of Congress and referred the case to the Justice Department, which charged the former White House strategist. A jury later convicted Bannon — his lawyers struggled to mount much of the defense — ultimately leading to his prison sentence.
A few weeks ago, Representative Thomas Massie endorsed a provocative idea: Perhaps, the Kentucky Republican argued, the House of Representatives could keep Bannon free by voting to drop the subpoena that Bannon chose to ignore.
Yesterday, Marjorie Taylor Greene supported the idea and promised to help lead the charge. “[O]Our Republican-led House must reverse all actions of the illegitimate J6 Commission,” the right-wing Georgian wrote online, adding: “House Republicans must take action!”
At this point, Republican leaders have not given any indication as to whether such a vote is likely, and given that Bannon’s prison sentence begins in 12 days, Republican House leadership should make a decision fairly quickly.
But even if such a measure were to pass, there is no reason to believe that such a bill would serve as a get-out-of-jail-free pass for the infamous podcaster. As a report in The New Republic noted, “Unfortunately for Greene and other Republicans in the House of Representatives, withdrawing the subpoenas does not magically mean no crime was committed.”
It’s an important point. Bannon ignored a subpoena, was held in contempt and faced a criminal trial. A jury heard the evidence and convicted him. A judge – one Trump-appointed judge – sentenced him to prison. The Massie/Greene plan is rooted in the idea that if the House were to effectively declare in the coming days, “It doesn’t matter!” that would wipe the slate clean for the convicted criminal.
I suspect the courts would not see it that way.
Complicating matters further, Bannon will also go on trial in New York City in September on charges related to his role in the ‘We Build the Wall’ operation. In that case, he’s accused of helping to defraud donors — and his allies in Congress can’t do anything about it.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
