The House passed a resolution (229-202) Thursday afternoon to find Steve Bannon, a political consultant to former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena requesting testimony and documents related to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The contempt charge will now be forward to the Department of Justice, which ultimately decides if Bannon should be prosecuted. If convicted, he faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
Nine Republicans joined the Democratic caucus in voting for the contempt resolution: Reps. Liz Cheney (WY), Adam Kinzinger (IL), Jamie Herrera Beutler (WA), Nancy Mace (SC), Peter Meijer (MI), Anthony Gonzalez (OH), Fred Upton (MI), John Katko (NY), and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA). GOP Rep. Mike Simpson (ID) also voted for the resolution, but changed his vote. Rep. Greg Pence, a Republican, did not vote.
Axios adds, “There has not been a successful prosecution under the criminal contempt statute since the Reagan administration. Assuming DOJ does bring charges, experts say it could take months, or even years, for Bannon to be convicted.”
