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Months since the Capitol insurrection, there has been a growing frustration amongst lawmakers and citizens regarding the Justice Department’s actions towards high-profile officials caught up in the riots. DOJ officials recently pushed back, explaining why they are slow-walking the indictments for former Trump strategist Steve Bannon among others.
According to CNN’s Zachary Cohen and Evan Perez, the DOJ is not ignoring its critics, Democratic lawmakers among them, but rather proceeding with the charges against Bannon with caution, making sure that there is no room for error or their case would be dismantled. Bannon was voted by the House to be held in criminal contempt for refusing to comply with the House Committee’s subpoena.
Bannon has cited being under the protection of Donald Trump’s claim of executive privilege as his reason not to comply with the panel. However, the Biden White House has rejected Trump’s claims of executive privilege. The claim also does not apply to Bannon, who was no longer working for the Trump administration at the time of the insurrection and on the days leading up to the riots.
Despite appearing to proceed with as much caution as possible, the report noted that the longer it would take for the DOJ to make a decision whether or not to prosecute Bannon, there would be more concerns as to whether this would be a good strategy by the House committee. Democrats have also increasingly expressed frustration with Attorney General Merrick Garland over holding Bannon in contempt as he has the final say on the matters.
In other related news, ABC journalist Jonathan Karl revealed that during the Capitol insurrection on January 6, then-vice president Mike Pence had an official White House photographer with him. Speaking with Stephen Colbert, Karl revealed that there are photos of Pence during the siege. However, Pence refused to have the photos released to the public following the insurrection.
It should be noted that the photos are taken at taxpayer expense and are therefore public records unless deemed a security risk.
“I got a hold of the photographer. I actually saw all of the photographs,” said Karl. “This is the Vice President of the United States, and he’s like holed up in a basement.”
