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announcer: a new mobile video app from c-span. c-span now. download today. ♪ announcer: the house select committee has been investigating the general every six attack at the u.s. capitol and voted unanimously in recommending steve bannon be held in criminal contempt of congress for refusing to comply with the subpoena to testify. mr. bannon, who worked at the white house in the early months of the trump presidency, was claiming executive privilege to avoid appearing before the committee. a vote by the full house to hold mr. bannon in contempt could come later this week, requiring a simple majority.

>> the select committee to investigate the attack on the capitol welcome to order. the select committee is meeting this evening to consider a report on a resolution recommending the house find stephen kay bannon and contempt of congress for refusal to comply with the subpoena issued by the select committee to investigate the january 6 attack on the united states capitol. without objection, the chair is authorized to declare the committee in recess. i recognize myself for opening statements. let me start by saying it gives me no joy that i was forced to call this meeting. my colleagues feel the same way i think. the expectation of this committee is that all witnesses will cooperate with our investigation. witnesses who have been

subpoenaed have a legal obligation to do so. when you think about what we are investigating, our attack on the seat of our democracy perpetrated by fellow citizens on our constitution. an attempt to stop the for -- certification of an election should it is shocking to me, shocking that anyone would not do anything in their power to assist our investigation. it is a shame that mr. bannon has put us in this position. we will not take no for an answer. we believe he has information relevant to our probe and we will use the tools at our disposal to get that information. i expect the house will adopt this referral to the justice department and the u.s. attorney will do his duty and prosecute mr. bannon for criminal contempt

of congress. our goal is simple. we want mr. bannon to answer our questions. we want him to turn over whatever records he possesses that are relevant to the select committee's investigation. the issue in front of us today is our ability to do our job. it is about fulfilling our responsibilities according to health resolution 503 to provide the american people answers about what happened january 6 and help ensure nothing like that may ever happen again. we fulfill our responsibilities by discovering the facts behind the january 6 attack so that congress can consider legislation with a full understanding of the activities that lead to an attack on congress itself. i want to make it clear how

isolated mr. bannon is in his refusal to cooperate with the select committee. we have reached out to dozens of witnesses. we are taking in thousands of pages of records, conducting interviews on a study basis. this is a serious, focused investigation. it is not flashy and gets results. it is essential we get mr. bannon's factual and complete testimony to get a full a ccounting of the violence of january 6 and its causes. he stands alone in his complete defiance of our subpoena. it is not acceptable. no one in this country, no matter how wealthy or powerful, is above the law. it left unaddressed, this may

encourage others to follow mr. bannon done that same path. for full swatting at home, i want you to think about something. what would happen to you if you did what mr. bannon is doing. what would happen if you refused to show up? would you be able to just go about your business? we all know the answer. there is in a different set of rules for him and he knows this. he knows our consequences and he has chosen the path toward criminal contempt by taking this position. one of the major questions we are dealing with is whether the rule of law will endure as a pillar of american democracy

after all we have seen the rule of law output to the test repeatedly in our recent past. while we don't know all the facts, we know there was a powerful put to overturn -- putsch to overturn the results of the 2020 election. america sat been and continue to be allied to about that. we note openly that was a violent attack that interfered with the peaceful transfer of power from one president to another. we know lies about the outcome of the election have not gone away. now we have a key witness who has flat out refused to comply with the congressional subpoena and coooperate with the investigation. the rules of law remain under attack right now. if we have no accountability for these abuses and there are

different sets of rules and different types of people, our democracy is in serious trouble. as the committee chair, i will not allow further harm to the rule of law in the course of our work. mr. bannon will comply with our investigation or he will face the consequences. maybe he is willing to be a martyr to his disgraceful cause, fighting what happened on january 6, by demonstrating his complete loyalty to the former president. i want our witnesses to understand something very plainly. if you are thinking of filing -- following the path mr. bannon has gone down, you are on notice that this is what you will face. the process we have begun tonight is a great one. it seldom happens and we would rather avoid it altogether. it is not reserved just for

steve bannon. if other witnesses defy this committee and failed to cooperate, we will be back in this room with a new report, with the names of whoever mistakenly believes they are above the law. we hope no other witnesses put themselves in this situation mr. bannon has, through his own conduct, but we cannot allow anyone to stand in the wake of the select committee as we work to get to the facts. the stakes are just too high. we will not be deterred or distracted. we will not be delayed. i urge my colleagues to support the favorable adoption of this report. it is now my pleasure to yield to the distinguished vice chair, my friend, miss cheney of wyoming for anything she would

care to offer. ms. cheney: on january 6, a mob breached the perimeter of our capital, assaulted and injured or than 140 police officers, engaged in hand-to-hand violence over an extended period, and invaded and occupied the united states capitol building. all in an effort to halt the lawful counting of electoral votes and reverse the results of the 2020 election. the day before this occurred, on january 5, mr. bannon publicly professed knowledge that "all hell is going to break loose tomorrow." he forecast the day would be " extraordinarily different than what most americans expected." he said to his listeners and viewers " so many people said if i was in a revolution, i would

be in washington." he said " this is your time in history." it appears mr. bannon had substantial a vance knowledge of the plans for january 6 and likely had an important role in formulating those plans. mr. bannon was in the war room at the willard on january 6 and appears to have detailed knowledge regarding the president's efforts to sell millions of americans the fraud that the election was stolen. in the words of many who participated in the january 6 attacks, the violence that day was in direct response to president trump's repeated claims from election night through january 6 that he had won the election. the american people are entitled to mr. bannon's firsthand testimony about all of these relevant facts.

as the chairman noted, he is refusing to provide it. preserving our constitution and the rule of law is a central purpose of this investigation. the plain fact here is that mr. bannon has no legal right to ignore the committees -- comm ittee's lawful subpoena. his excuse is former president trump wishes to invoke some form of executive privilege for a subset of the relevant topics. president trump's direct communications with mr. bannon regarding the planning for january 6. this information should not be subject to any privilege at all. certainly, there is no basis for absolute or unqualified privilege for presidential communications. more important now, there is no conceivably applicable privilege that could shield mr. bannon

from testimony on all of the many other topics identified in this committee subpoena. because he is categorically refusing to appear, we have no choice but to see consequences for mr. bannon's failure to comply. those consequences are not just important for this investigation. they are important for all congressional investigations. mr. bannon and mr. trump's privilege arguments do, however, appear to reveal one thing. they suggest president trump was personally involved in the planning and execution of january 6 and this committee will the at to the bottom of that --get to the balm of that --bottom of that. let me add one further thought for my republican colleagues. we all agree america is the greatest nation on the face of god's earth.

truth, justice, and our constitution have made america great. almost every one of my colleagues knows in your heart that what happened on january 6 was profoundly wrong. you all know that there is no evidence of widespread election fraud sufficient to have changed the results of the election. you all know that the dominion voting machines were not corrupted by a foreign power. you know these claims are false. yet former president trump repeats them almost daily. he has now urged republicans not to vote in 2022 and 2024. this is a prescription for national self-destruction. i asked my colleagues at to consider the fundamental questions of right and wrong here. the american people must know what happened.

they must know the truth. all of us who are elected officials must do our duties to prevent the dismantling of the rule of law and ensure that nothing like that dark day in january ever happens again. thank you, mr. chairman. i yelled back. mr. thompson: pursuant to notice , i follow a report on a resolution recommending the house of representatives finds stephen k bannon and contempt of congress for refusing to supply -- comply with the committee subpoena to investigate january 6 attack on the united states capitol. the report was circulated in advance and printed copies are available. the court shall designate the report. >> report on a resolution recommending the house of

representatives finds stephen k bannon and contempt of congress for refusal to comply with the subpoena duly issued by the select committee that investigates the january 6 attacks on the united states capitol. mr. thompson: without objection, it will be considered as read and open to amendments at any time. i recognize myself for the purpose of offering an amendment at the dusk. -- desk. the clerk shall report the amendment. clerk: amendment offered by mr. thompson submitted. mr. thompson: the amendment will be considered as read and considered for purposes of further amendments. i now recognize myself to explain the amendment. yesterday evening, counsel to mr. bannon requested a one b -- week adjournment of our response to a letter i wrote on october 15 which stated his willful

defiance of the select committee subpoena to lead to tonight's hearing. without objection, i include in my october 15 letter as well as yesterday's letter from robert j costello, his attorney. mr. bannon's attorney said they needed time to "assess the select committee's request in light of the litigation of former president trump and the district of columbia district court yesterday." the former president lawsuit is immaterial for mr. bannon's defiance of our lawful subpoena. i made that clear in a letter to mr. costello this morning. without objections, my letter is on the record. furthermore, white house yesterday issued a letter to mr. bannon's attorney, stating "we

are not aware of any basis for your clients refusal to appear for a deposition." before the select committee, pres. biden has already determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the public interest and therefore is not justified with respect to certain subjects within the purview of the select committee. without objection, i include the full white house letter in the record. this amendment and the nature of substitute updates the report to reflect these developments, and it is now even clearer mr. bannon has no longer -- not to comply with our cepeda good.

those in favor say i. those opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it any amendment and the nature of the substitute is agreed to. i recognize the vice chair, ms. cheney, for motion. rep. cheney: i move that the committee favorably report to the house the committee's report on a revenue -- resolution recommending the house of representatives find it stephen k bannon and contempt of congress for refusal to comply with the subpoena duly issued by this of -- select committee to investigate the january 6 attack on the united states capitol as amended. mr. thompson: the question on the motion is favorably report to the house. those in favor say aye. those opposed no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. ms. cheney: i request a recorded

vote. mr. thompson: a recorded vote is requested. the clerk will call the vote. clerk: ms. cheney. ms. lofgren. >> aye. mr. schiff. >>aye. clerk: mr. aguilar. mr. murphy. this to rest in. mr. raskin. mr. kinzinger, aye. mr. chairman, you are not recorded. mr. thompson: i vote aye. clerk: mr. chairman, aye. mr. thompson: the corporal report the vote. clerk: there are 9 ayes, zero nos. mr. thompson: the motion is

agreed to. vice chair is recognized. ms. cheney: pursuant to a clause and rule, i request members have two calendar days to file with the clerk of the committee supplemental or additional views on the measure recorded by the committee tonight. mr. thompson: so ordered. without objection, staff is authorized to make any necessary technical or conforming changes to the report to reflect the actions of the committee. there being no further business, without objection, the select committee stands adorned. [gavel pounds]

>> i would say what we just saw was a unanimous bipartisan determination by the january 6 select committee to ensure that our subpoenas are observed.