Why House GOP’s 'get-out-of-jail-free card' may not save Steve Bannon: analysis

19 June 2024

"War Room" host Steve Bannon and his legal team have been making a last-ditch effort to keep him out of federal prison.

But so far, it hasn't worked. And the former White House chief strategist for the Trump Administration has been ordered to surrender to authorities on July 1.

Some of Bannon's far-right MAGA allies in Congress, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), have been pushing a plan to keep him out of prison. But MSNBC's Steve Benen, in a June 19 column, lays out some reasons why he believes the scheme is likely to fail.

"A couple of weeks ago," Benen observes, "Rep. Thomas Massie endorsed a provocative idea: Maybe, the Kentucky Republican argued, the House could keep Bannon free by voting to rescind the subpoena that Bannon chose to ignore. Yesterday, Marjorie Taylor Greene threw her support behind the idea, vowing to help lead the effort."

Benen adds, however, that "GOP leaders haven't given any indication whether such a vote is likely."

"But even if such a measure were to pass," the MSNBC columnist and Rachel Maddow producer argues, "there's no reason to assume such a bill would serve as a get-out-of-jail-free card for the notorious podcaster. As a report in The New Republic noted, 'Unfortunately for Greene and other House Republicans, rescinding the subpoenas doesn't magically mean no crime was committed.'"

Benen continues, "It's an important point. Bannon ignored a subpoena, was held in contempt, and faced a criminal trial. A jury heard the evidence and convicted him. A judge — a Trump-appointed judge — sentenced him to prison. The Massie/Greene plan is rooted in the idea that if the House were to effectively declare in the coming days, 'Never mind!' that would wipe the slate clean for the convicted criminal. I have a hunch the courts wouldn't quite see it that way."

Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.

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