Watchdog: Trump Allies Cannot Shirk Responsibility for Jan. 6 With Impunity

Washington, D.C. — This afternoon, House lawmakers voted to hold Steve Bannon in criminal contempt of Congress after his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack.  

“The House is right to fight for answers from Steve Bannon so Americans can finally get the truth they deserve about the deadly assault on our nation’s democracy on January 6th,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “Trump has already shirked all responsibility for the violent insurrection at the Capitol, and now his puppets in Congress want to ensure that his allies can do the same with impunity. Any lawmaker who voted against holding Bannon accountable today is revealing their true priorities: fanning the flames of Trump’s Big Lie and sewing distrust in our democracy.” 

In the weeks and months following the insurrection, several Republican members of Congress have used their platforms to promote Trump’s Big Lie and undermine trust in the nation’s democratic processes. Rep. Andrew Clyde compared those storming the Capitol to tourists, saying, “if you didn’t know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit,” and flat out denied there was an insurrection at all. 

Rep. Pat Fallon questioned whether calling the violent attack on our democracy an insurrection was “hyperbolic,” and Rep. Paul Gosar suggested that it was wrong for law enforcement to seek information from the public on those involved in the insurrection. Rep. Madison Cawthorne has repeatedly referred to those who were arrested for their participation in the deadly insurrection as “political prisoners.” 

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