Barring intervention by the Supreme Court, Steve Bannon is set to report to FCI Danbury on July 1 to serve his four-month sentence for contempt of Congress. In an effort to alter this outcome, House Republicans have decided to challenge the legitimacy of the January 6th Select Committee’s subpoenas retroactively. As reported by Politico, House leadership recently voted along party lines to reject the previous handling of the Jan. 6 committee, signaling their intent to file an amicus brief at the DC Circuit.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has issued a statement indicating that the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group voted 3-2 in favor of filing a brief supporting Bannon’s petition for rehearing en banc. This move aims to withdraw certain arguments previously made by the House regarding the Select Committee’s organization.
The Committee’s subpoenas have been a point of contention. Representative Jim Banks has argued in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson that the absence of a ranking member invalidates these subpoenas. However, this argument has been consistently rejected by the judiciary. Banks also accused the Committee of deleting records that could have aided Bannon and Peter Navarro’s defenses, a claim that has been debunked by several sources (Public Notice and USA Today).
In summary, while Republicans in Congress have taken steps to contest the legitimacy of the January 6th Committee’s actions, the effectiveness of these efforts remains highly questionable. The legal interpretations they advance are likely to face significant scrutiny and opposition in the courts.
For further details, refer to the legal proceedings documented on Court Listener.