A jury in the nation's predominantly Democratic capital convicted former Trump adviser and "War Room" host Stephen K. Bannon in 2022 on a misdemeanor contempt of Congress charge for failing to comply with a subpoena from the partisan House Jan. 6 committee.
Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered Bannon to report to jail by July 1.
Bannon told reporters outside the courthouse that "all of this is about one thing. This is about shutting down the MAGA movement, shutting down grassroots conservatives, shutting down President Trump."
He also made abundantly clear that Attorney General Merrick Garland and the rest of the Biden Department of Justice were "not going to shut up Trump. They're not going to shut up Navarro. They're not going to shut up Bannon. And they're certainly not going to shut up MAGA!"
Bannon's attorneys filed an emergency motion to keep him out of prison as he continued to appeal the conviction on the ground that he "reasonably believed — based on the advice of counsel — that he did not have to respond [to the subpoena]" and that for a contempt conviction, it must be demonstrated he willfully acted in bad faith.
'Bannon should not go to prison before the Supreme Court considers his forthcoming petition for certiorari.'
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the motion Thursday in a 2-1 vote, noting that Bannon's "ground for requesting release does not warrant a departure from the general rule that a defendant 'shall ... be detained' following conviction and imposition of a sentence of imprisonment."
The two judges in the majority were Cornelia Pillard, a progressive jurist nominated by former Democratic President Barack Obama in 2013, and Bradley Garcia, nominated to the court by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022.
Trump-nominated Judge Justin Walker, who voted against denying the emergency motion, indicated in his dissenting opinion that the main line of argumentation in Bannon's appeal might succeed before the Supreme Court, which is not bound by the application of the decision in Licavoli v. United States.
The Democrat-selected majority indicated that in Licavoli, the proof of a summoned witness' intentional default in response to a congressional subpoena establishes the requisite willfulness.
"Because the Supreme Court is not bound by Licavoli, because Licavoli's interpretation of 'willfully' is a close question, and because that question may well be material, Bannon should not go to prison before the Supreme Court considers his forthcoming petition for certiorari," concluded Walker.
Bannon's legal team, which has reportedly argued that the Biden DOJ is ostensibly attempting to prevent Bannon from helping with the Trump campaign and speaking out on issues of importance, have filed an emergency stay application in the U.S. Supreme Court.
While there is uncertainty over whether Bannon will ultimately spend four months inside a prison cell for a misdemeanor charge, it's clear that Democratic officials similarly convicted suffer no such consequences.
House Republicans voted to hold Garland in contempt of Congress earlier this month for defying subpoenas for audio recordings of Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur — an interview from which Hur, whose report indicated Biden "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice-presidency when he was a private citizen," concluded the Democratic president might be too decrepit for a jury to convict.
Unlike in Bannon's case, the Biden Department of Justice revealed on June 14 that it would no longer bother prosecuting Garland.
Eric Holder, Obama's attorney general, was held in contempt of Congress in an overwhelming 255-67 vote in 2012 for refusing to turn over documents related to the Fast and Furious scandal.
The Obama DOJ quickly rewarded Holder for keeping the Democratic president's documents from the American people's elected representatives by refusing to prosecute.
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Congressional investigators released a report last week marking some of the distance the Jan. 6 Select Committee and one of its star witnesses journeyed away from the truth as a means to "legislatively prosecute" former President Donald Trump.
The Republican front-runner is now wondering whether there will be consequences for one of the individuals caught casting shade on him with tall tales.
"Our great Secret Service has totally CRUSHED Cassidy Hutchinson's (who I barely knew) made up (FAKE!) stories about me roughing up Secret Service Agents from the back seat of the Beast (Limo)," Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.
"Has she now changed her testimony?" added Trump.
House Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) released a report last week indicating the Jan. 6 committee erased records; hid numerous transcribed interviews; failed to turn recordings over to Republican lawmakers; suppressed evidence that failed to conform to Democrats' preferred narrative; and colluded with Fulton County's scandal-plagued Democratic district attorney.
The congressional report, penned by the House Administration Committee’s oversight subpanel, also highlighted an instance when the Jan. 6 committee went out of its way to lend credence to sensational gossip without giving a hearing to known witnesses whose firsthand accounts would ultimately paint an entirely different picture.
Blaze News previously reported that Cassidy Hutchinson, who served as assistant to Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows, sat for six transcribed interviews and one publicized hearing with the committee. In her fourth transcribed interview in June 2022, she provided the committee with something they obviously figured they could use. After all, the Jan. 6 committee scheduled Hutchinson's public hearing to take place eight days later.
Despite knowing of other witnesses who may have provided contradictory testimony — including the Secret Service agents featured in the story — the committee put Hutchinson on the stand. She then spun a yarn about how Trump got into a scuffle with a Secret Service agent and attempted to wrest control of the presidential limousine.
Hutchinson claimed that on Jan. 6, Tony Ornato, a former Secret Service agent and Trump's deputy chief of staff, "described [Trump] as being irate. The president said something to the effect of, 'I'm the f'ing president, take me up to the Capitol now,' to which [Secret Service Agent Bobby Engel] responded, 'Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing.'"
"The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel," continued Hutchinson. "Mr. Engel grabbed his arm, said, 'Sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel.'"
Hutchinson, who apparently even got the type of vehicle at the heart of her story wrong, suggested that Trump then lunged toward Engel.
The congressional report released last week indicated that the Jan. 6 committee only got around to interviewing the witnesses with actual insights into the story months after Hutchinson shared her fiction with the nation — when "it was obvious Republicans would win control of the House."
Ornato "directly refuted Hutchinson's testimony," telling the Jan. 6 committee in a Nov. 29, 2022, transcribed interview that "the first time he had ever heard the story Hutchinson claims [he] told her on January 6 was during Hutchinson's public testimony."
Hutchinson's story was also contradicted by the Secret Service agent who was driving Trump to and from the Ellipse on Jan. 6.
While the Jan. 6 committee did not bother to ask the agent about Hutchinson's alternate history during his Nov. 7, 2022, transcribed interview, the agent brought it up anyway, insisting that he "did not see him reach [redacted]. [President Trump] never grabbed the steering wheel. I didn't see him, you know, lunge to try to get into the front seat at all."
"The testimony of these four White House employees directly contradicts claims made by Cassidy Hutchinson and by the Select Committee in the Final report," said the Oversight report. "None of the White House employees corroborated Hutchinson's sensational story."
In his Truth Social post Monday, Trump wrote, "Will she be prosecuted for what she did and said? What about the Unselect J6 Committee. They destroyed almost everything, including real evidence and findings. What's going to happen with them — Serious crimes have been committed?"
Extra to seeking accountability for Hutchinson and the committee at large, Trump also recently suggested that former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) "should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee."
Cheney, the Jan. 6 committee's vice chairwoman, was the one to press Hutchinson to testify under oath during the public hearing about what she imagined Trump had done when being driven away from his speech at the Ellipse on Jan. 6.
After Hutchinson testified under oath, Cheney gave her a hug, later telling ABC News' "This Week," "What Cassidy Hutchinson did was an unbelievable example of bravery and of courage and patriotism in the face of real pressure."
"I am absolutely confident in her credibility. I'm confident in her testimony," added Cheney.
It appears Cheney's confidence was misplaced. While she has yet to walk back her supportive remarks, voters spared her the need, ousting her in the 2022 Wyoming Republican primary in a landslide vote.
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Congressional investigators released a report this week exposing the politicization of the Jan. 6 Select Committee along with its tactical myopia and apparent willingness to suppress critical facts when "legislatively prosecut[ing]" former President Donald Trump.
The report released Monday by House Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) indicates that the Jan. 6 committee deleted records; hid multiple transcribed interviews; failed to turn over recordings to Republican lawmakers; suppressed evidence that contradicted Democrats' preferred narrative; and colluded with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who ultimately launched an election interference trial of Trump in Georgia.
The Oversight committee's insights into Cassidy Hutchinson's 2022 testimony and its surrounding context are perhaps best illustrative of the broader problems affecting the Jan. 6 committee's so-called investigation.
The "Initial Findings Report" noted that Hutchinson, who served as assistant to Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows, participated in six transcribed interviews and one highly publicized hearing with the Jan. 6 committee. Apparently, in her fourth transcribed interview on June 20, 2022, Hutchinson managed to provide the committee with something they could sink their teeth into.
Hutchinson told the tale of how Trump supposedly got in a scuffle with a Secret Service agent and attempted to commandeer the presidential limousine.
Provided with this provocative story, the committee scheduled a public hearing eight days later with Hutchinson as the key witness, reportedly without even bothering to interview other witnesses who may have provided contradictory testimony.
Former U.S. Rep Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) pressed Hutchinson to testify under oath during the public hearing about what happened after Trump was driven away from his speech at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, even though Hutchinson wasn't in the Suburban with Trump at the time — all the more evident because she appears to have erroneously said Trump was in "The Beast," the presidential limousine, when leaving the Ellipse.
Hutchinson told the committee about a conversation she allegedly had at the White House with Tony Ornato, Trump's former White House deputy chief of staff.
"Tony described [Trump] as being irate. The president said something to the effect of, 'I'm the f'ing president, take me up to the Capitol now,' to which [Secret Service Agent Bobby Engel] responded, 'Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing,'" said Hutchinson. "The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. Engel grabbed his arm, said, 'Sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel.'"
Hutchinson suggested that Trump then lunged toward Engel, who she indicated was present for Ornato's later retelling of the event but did not contribute.
In the lead-up to the public hearing, the report indicated that "the Select Committee did not interview either of the two USSS agents referenced in her testimony, nor did the Select Committee interview any other individual implicated in her testimony."
The report further noted that the Jan. 6 committee only got around to interviewing the Secret Service agents months later when "it was obvious Republicans would win control of the House."
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who served as chair of the Jan. 6 committee, reportedly admitted to failing to comply with House Rules when refusing to archive transcripts from transcribed interview or depositions of White House and USSS personnel.
"Many of these White House and USSS employees were either with President Trump or aware of his actions on January 6, yet none of their witness transcripts were archived with the House Clerk or provided to the Subcommittee," said the report. "Notably, the Select Committee published over 200 transcripts online, but did not publish these select transcripts."
It turns out that some of these hidden transcripts indicated Hutchinson's "sensational" story was a thing of fiction.
Only after Chairman Loudermilk leaned on the White House for several months to provide transcripts of the witness interviews was he able to review them in person.
"The testimony of these four White House employees directly contradicts claims made by Cassidy Hutchinson and by the Select Committee in the Final report," said the Oversight report. "None of the White House employees corroborated Hutchinson's sensational story."
In addition to indicating Hutchinson presented an "entirely different version of events" than what actually took place, White House employees reportedly further contradicted the Jan. 6 committee's claim that Trump intended to go the Capitol on Jan. 6.
"More than one of the White House employees testified to the exact opposite: that there was never any plan for the President to go to the Capitol on January 6," said the report. "The testimony of the White House employee refutes this claim and leaves no doubt that the Select Committee's claim is false."
A White House employee also refuted Hutchinson's claim that Trump said anything about the alleged chant "Hang Mike Pence," indicating the former president said nothing at all about the chants.
After providing the Jan. 6 committee and the liberal media with tall tales that cast shade on Trump, Hutchinson got a book deal with Simon and Schuster, guest spots on liberal talk shows, and glowing write-ups in publications such as the New York Times.
Chairman Loudermilk said in a statement, "For nearly two years former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's January 6th Select Committee promoted hearsay and cherry-picked information to promote its political goal — to legislatively prosecute former President Donald Trump."
"It was no surprise that the Select Committee's final report focused primarily on former President Donald Trump and his supporters, not the security failures and reforms needed to ensure the United States Capitol is safer today than in 2021," continued Loudermilk.
The Georgia Republican stressed that the "American people deserve the entire truth about what caused the violent breach at the United States Capitol of January 6, 2021. It is unfortunate the Select Committee succumbed to their political inclinations and chased false narratives instead of providing the important work of a genuine investigation."
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CNN declined to go on the record about why the outlet apparently dismissed exculpatory evidence in its reporting against Stefan Passantino.
Stefan Passantino sued Andrew Weissmann last year after the former deputy to Special Counsel Robert Mueller claimed the Trump-world attorney 'coached [Cassidy Hutchinson] to lie.'
An expert hired by House investigators said Cassidy Hutchinson lied when claiming authorship of a note presented by the Jan. 6 Committee.
Pelosi's failure to preemptively deploy the National Guard was at the center of a minority report published by House Republicans in 2022.
Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said the Jan. 6 committee interviewed him only once during Democrats' two-year investigation.
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