The House committee has said it may refer Bannon for criminal prosecution by the Department of Justice (DOJ) if he doesn’t appear for a deposition slated for Thursday.
Such a move would place Attorney General Merrick Garland in the center of a debate over whether to go after a former right-hand man of Donald Trump after vowing to restore the reputation of a department that was deeply politicized under the prior administration.
“That’s going to be something that will be considered at the highest levels at DOJ, and what they’re going to consider with any referral like that is how strong of a case is it, and even if it’s readily provable — how important is it that we do this?” said Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of St. Thomas…
Barbara McQuade, who served as a U.S. attorney during the Obama administration, said the referral provides the DOJ the opportunity to be an important accountability check on those in Trump’s orbit.
“There are a number of things prosecutors have to think about. One is, what is the deterrent effect of bringing a case here in light of the history of the Trump administration, allies and others thumbing their noses at congressional subpoenas and stalling? There’s a compelling case here for bringing criminal charges,” she said.
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