Nancy Pelosi and other House members serving on the January 6 Committee investigating the Capitol riot have been subpoenaed by lawyers for Steve Bannon. The subpoenas were accepted by House counsel Doug Letter last Friday.
Bannon was indicted for contempt of Congress after refusing to testify about his own conversations with the former president ahead of the attack on the Capitol, and his trial is scheduled for July.
Team Bannon has subpoenaed all nine members of the House select committee, as well as three committee staff, House’s general counsel Douglas Letter, Pelosi, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
- Officially, Bannon’s lawyers are looking to provide evidence that the select committee did not follow House rules in issuing its subpoena to Bannon last year, and that federal prosecutors violated justice department rules in filing charges.
- Unofficially, the move represents part of the Bannon strategy to counterprogram the January 6 hearings which are scheduled to begin tomorrow, June 9.
- Bannon told Axios that he plans to host Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene on the morning of June 9 for his “War Room” podcast, when they are likely to portray the January 6 rioters as political prisoners and MAGA martyrs.
Experts said efforts to compel members of Congress to testify are unlikely to succeed because of shields for documents and testimony under the Constitution’s speech or debate clause. But whether the subpoenas stand depends on how Judge Carl Nichols rules at a hearing next week, where he will asses pre-trial motions.