Lucy, Football, and Steve Bannon

The House select committee to investigate the January 6 insurrection is is moving to hold Stephen Bannon in criminal contempt of Congress for not complying with their subpoena.

Considering the Congressional record on this, I see this as more theater than anything else.

If you expect to see Bannon frog-marched in handcuffs before the committee, I would suggest that you review the fable of Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football:

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol announced on Thursday that it will move to hold Stephen K. Bannon in criminal contempt for not complying with its subpoena as it seeks to force former Trump administration officials to cooperate with its inquiry.

Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) said the panel will meet Tuesday when the House returns to Washington to vote to adopt a contempt report.

“The Select Committee will use every tool at its disposal to get the information it seeks, and witnesses who try to stonewall the Select Committee will not succeed,” Thompson said in a statement.

The decision to pursue a criminal complaint signals the committee’s aggressive approach as it tries to avoid the standoffs that bedeviled congressional Democrats during the Trump administration. At the time, drawn-out legal battles frustrated attempts to scrutinize the Trump White House and federal agencies.

Members of the select committee have argued that the situation is different now with Donald Trump out of office, saying they believe the Biden Justice Department will assist their efforts to investigate the most serious attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812 by taking up criminal complaints to help enforce its subpoenas.

“We expect the Justice Department to adhere to the principle that no one is above the law,” Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the committee, said earlier this week.

A successful prosecution for contempt, which is classified as a misdemeanor, could lead to Bannon facing a fine of up to $100,000 and a one-year sentence in federal prison.

It should be noted that Bannon left the Trump administration in 2017, so Trump's assertion of privilege about the events of January 6, 2021 is particularly specious, since the privilege only applies to communications within the executive branch, and Steve Bannon had been a private citizen for almost 4 years at that time.

Of course, this won't make a difference.  Bannon will never see the inside of a court room over this.