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1 1 (November 19, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveevr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: The Bannon Indictment and Prosecution November 19, 2021 The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on November 12, 2021, that a federal grand jury in Washington, DC, had indicted Stephen K. Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress. The indictment follows as a consequence of Bannon's noncompliance with subpoenas issued by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol (Select Committee) for deposition testimony and documents related to his role in and around the events of January 6, 2021. Bannon, a longtime adviser to former President Donald Trump, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. This Sidebar briefly describes the statutory criminal contempt of Congress process and DOJ's recent treatment of contempt referrals received from the House. It then addresses various aspects of the federal criminal statute under which Bannon has been charged. The Statutory Criminal Contempt Process 2 U.S.C. § 192 (Section 192) makes it a crime for any person to fail to comply with a valid congressional subpoena. As with other federal criminal offenses, DOJ has the discretion to prosecute possible violations of the law. Unlike most other criminal statutes, however, the contempt statutes not only establish the basic offense, but also provide a process by which either chamber of Congress can refer violations of Section 192 to DOJ for enforcement. Once either chamber approves a contempt resolution, the matter is certified to the appropriate United States attorney, whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action. Consistent with this process, the House voted to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress on October 21, 2021, and the Speaker later certified the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. The Decision to Seek an Indictment Following the House vote, there was some public uncertainty as to how, and whether, DOJ would proceed with the Bannon contempt. As a historical matter, criminal contempt of Congress indictments and convictions are relatively rare. There has been some reporting suggesting that DOJ has not brought a criminal contempt of Congress charge since 1983 and not obtained a conviction since the 1970s. However, there are more recent examples in which DOJ has obtained convictions under Section 192, generally as part of a plea deal. For example, DOJ charged Scott Bloch, a former head of the Office of Special Counsel, with criminal contempt in 2010 and Elliott Abrams, a former Assistant Secretary of State involved in the Iran Contra affair, with the same offense in 1988. Both pleaded guilty to the charges. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10660 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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