Posted on 10/23/2021 1:28:49 PM PDT by RandFan
Nine House Republicans voted with all Democrats on Thursday to adopt a resolution holding former Trump White House strategist Stephen Bannon in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The nine Republicans who broke with their party were Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio), Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.), John Katko (N.Y.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Nancy Mace (S.C.), Peter Meijer (Mich.) and Fred Upton (Mich.).
Cheney and Kinzinger are the two Republican members of the Jan. 6 select committee, and were the only Republicans who voted in favor of creating the panel back in June after an effort to establish a bipartisan independent commission stalled in the Senate.
All but two of the nine Republicans who backed holding Bannon in contempt also voted to impeach former President Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Fitzpatrick and Mace, who both represent competitive districts, did not vote to impeach Trump for inciting the riot in January but have occasionally broken with their party on certain issues.
The nine defections on Thursday came despite House GOP leadership formally urging their rank-and-file to vote against the resolution that refers Bannon to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.
A notice from House Minority Whip Steve Scalise's (R-La.) office on Wednesday argues that the select committee "is more interested in pursuing a partisan agenda to politicize the January 6th attack rather than conducting a legitimate good faith investigation into the security failures leading up to and on that day."
Katko denied that he felt pressure from GOP leaders to vote against holding Bannon in contempt of Congress.
"I never feel pressure. I do what I think is right, no matter the consequences," Katko said after Thursday's vote.
The select committee is seeking testimony from Bannon about his role in organizing the "Stop the Steal" rally at the White House which preceded the violent mob of Trump's supporters that attacked the Capitol to try to stop Congress from ratifying the election results.
Bannon has refused to comply with the committee's subpoena and cited a case filed by Trump claiming executive privilege over documents from his time in the White House.
Cheney, the select committee's vice chair who was booted from GOP leadership earlier this year for refusing to back Trump's false election fraud claims, implored her fellow Republicans to back the investigation.
"My colleagues in the Republican Party, the Republican members of this body, have to understand, have to recognize that there's a moment when politics must stop if we want to defend and protect our institutions. A violent assault on the Capitol to stop a constitutional process of counting electoral votes is that moment," Cheney said during House floor debate on Thursday.
Kinzinger said the contempt resolution showed that "no one — and I repeat no one — is above the law."
"Steve Bannon went out of his way to earn this resolution before us and now we must approve it," Kinzinger said on the House floor.
The other Republicans who voted in favor of holding Bannon in contempt but didn't back creating the select committee and don't serve on it said the measure was justified to enforce congressional subpoena authority.
"Mr. Bannon refused to comply with a valid subpoena by a duly-formed committee, claiming broad exec privilege. There is no conceivable interpretation of exec privilege that applies to someone outside of gov’t, conferring with senior gov’t officials, on non-official matters," Meijer tweeted. "Holding individuals who refuse to comply with congressional subpoenas in contempt is the sole recourse available to Congress to protect its power of inquiry."
OK I'm most surprised by Nancy Mace and Meijer. Two freshmen who I had high hopes for now voting with Liz Cheney??
Disappointed they have sold out so quickly !!
Meijer replaced Justin Amash. A case of careful what you wish for...
VOTE THEM OUT.
They are democrats in Republican clothing .
I don’t know why you had high hopes for them, they are both Bush League Republicans who immediately joined with their fellow Assistant Democrats as soon as they got there.
> “VOTE THEM OUT.”
Not until you take out the machines that ‘installed’ them in the first place.
Mace was endorsed by Rand and sounded good... She used to like his father Ron back in the day and courted his supporters when running for State Rep... Had high hopes for her put it that way
She obviously got to DC and sold out. How disappointing.
Well sure this hurts, but they are still better than Democrats, right???
I thought that Mace was one of the patriots in Congress. What happened? Is she so dumb that she doesn’t see through the farce?
She sold out within a year!!
Incredible isn’t it.
Justin Amash was truly bad news. He was about to make a career out of being a #NeverTrump. He would have been on Liz Cheneys team of Assistant Democrats.
Usual suspects.
Well, Ron is a bit of a nut, IMO. I love Rand 95% of the time.
>>>The 9 Republicans . . .<<<
The 9 Democrat Republicans (I corrected the title).
Anyone from SC who cowtows to the Dems is doomed.
There is nothing factually or legally correct in that statement whatsoever.
Almost all of the people that SC elects are nothing but Assistant Democrats, Grahamnesty, Scott and most the Congresspersons, except for Taylor.
For a supposedly conservative state they elect an awful lot of cheap labor importers.
Anyone from SC who cowtows to the Dems is doomed.
Men kowtow, women cowtow? How sexist of you!!!
He was quite independent... I doubt he would have affiliated with someone like Liz Cheney.
Meijer took no time in looking like a worse Rep. than Amash.
Must be something in the water in that district!
The 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump:
1. Liz Cheney (Wyoming)
2. Dan Newhouse (Washington)
3. Jaime Herrera-Beutler (Washington)
4. Fred Upton (Michigan)
5. Peter Meijer (Michigan)
6. Adam Kinzinger (IL)
7. Anthony Gonzalez (OH)
8. John Katko (NY)
9. David Valadao (CA)
10. Tom Rice (SC)
Oh how I would love to correct the title.. Sadly it gets you in trouble as I found out :(
I need to be careful...
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