The chief of staff to President Joe Biden could be subpoenaed by Congress. According to the OLC opinions, senior presidential advisers are immune from congressional testimony. He noted that the Justice Department's argument in the Bannon case could cause a conflict between the department's internal policies and its prosecution decisions.
Those two positions would be held at the same time.
The documents the Justice Department provides could shed light on how it tried to square that inherent conflict, or whether it has issued subsequent, nonpublic legal guidance that would permit prosecuting Bannon for disobeying the select committee.
The ability to demand testimony from executive branch officials has been a roadblock to lawmakers for decades. They were used to derail investigations into Trump's efforts to push for investigations of his political rivals, as well as his handling of the special counsel investigation of Russian interference in the election. The opinions are on the books, though they might have been issued under Biden. The order requires the Justice Department to give the documents to Bannon.
During the George W. Bush administration, he was an attorney for the Justice Department, and he argued in favor of immunity for presidential advisers, even those who had left the administration, from being compelled to talk to Congress about their official work for the president. I know of one case that courts have rejected the reasoning of OLC opinions, according to the lead Bannon prosecutor.
In October, the select committee held Bannon in contempt, claiming that he uniquely disobeyed the committee's request for documents and testimony. He was charged with two counts of contempt by the Justice Department. In September, the select committee subpoenaed Bannon, saying they believed he played a role in events leading up to the Capitol attack. In the days leading up to the election, Bannon was part of a war room of Trump allies who were trying to get Congress to reject Joe Biden's electors.
The prosecution and the entire January 6 select committee process were called a sideshow by Bannon outside the courthouse on Wednesday.
He said all of this is noise, flanked by his attorneys. The Democratic Party is going to be destroyed during the upcoming elections, according to Steve Bannon.
The prosecutors were poised to get their own pre- trial victory, as Nichols appeared poised to deny Bannon's attempt to argue that his decision to blow off the subpoena was due to legal advice. He asked for more briefings from both sides about whether the role of executive privilege in this case makes existing case law irrelevant.
The Justice Department's tactics in investigating Steve Bannon were one of the questions tabled by Nichols. His defense team protested after learning that grand jury subpoenas were issued for Costello's phone and email logs in October, just after he was held in contempt by the House.
The evidence the Justice Department obtained from other people was rejected by Nichols. The prosecution was triggered by the defense's request for help obtaining internal select committee documents related to its decision to hold Bannon in contempt.
If prosecutors call any select committee members or officials as witnesses, the defense team might get more information.
Josh Gerstein was involved in the report.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
