As the select committee investigating January 6th continues to deviate from their claims of of being non-partisan, it appears as though they’re making headway within the Republican Party.
From the very beginning, the committee was wrought with trouble. The Democrats who were steering its formation were unable to convince the nation that this endeavor wouldn’t simply be a re-run of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. Then they kicked a number of prominent Republicans off of the committee, making it even more difficult to claim impartiality.
Now, with the group seeking criminal contempt charges for subpoena-ignorer Steve Bannon, there are a number of House Republicans who seem to have jumped on the bandwagon.
There were a few Republicans Thursday who surprised observers when they voted in support of holding former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress and referring him to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.
Prior to the vote, four Republicans were considered a lock to approve the criminal referral, according to Capitol Hill sources: Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Fred Upton of Michigan and Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio.
So, who were the others?
The remaining five Republicans included three who voted for impeachment — Peter Meijer of Michigan, John Katko of New York and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington — and two House Republicans who did not vote to impeach Trump: Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
Bannon is the first high-profile target of the select committee’s subpoenas who had refused to comply entirely, (with a few others said to be “somewhat” cooperative), and it wouldn’t be surprising to discover that Pelosi and crew were looking to make an example of the longtime Trump adviser.
