WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was indicted Friday on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The Justice Department said Bannon, 67, was indicted on one count for refusing to appear for a deposition last month and the other for refusing to provide documents in response to the committee’s subpoena. He is expected to surrender to authorities on Monday and will appear in court that afternoon, a law enforcement official told the AP.
The indictment comes after a parade of Trump administration officials — including Bannon — have defied requests and demands from Congress over the past five years with little consequence, including during Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.
President Barack Obama’s administration also declined to charge two of its officials who defied congressional demands.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Bannon’s indictment reflects the Justice Department’s “steadfast commitment” to the rule of law. Each count carries a minimum of 30 days of jail and as long as a year behind bars.
The indictment came as a second expected witness, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, defied his own subpoena from the committee on Friday and as Trump has escalated his legal battles to withhold documents and testimony about the insurrection.
Officials in both Democratic and Republican administrations have been held in contempt by Congress, but criminal indictments for contempt are exceedingly rare.
The most recent notable examples of criminal penalties for not testifying before Congress date to the 1970s, including when President Richard Nixon’s aide G. Gordon Liddy was convicted of misdemeanor charges for refusing to answer questions about his role in the Watergate scandal.