Bannon Case Status And Anticipated Developments

[Effete Snob]

There had been a couple of posts lately in which it appeared that people were under the impression that Bannon had been locked up.

Bannon is currently charged with two misdemeanors. He is not locked up, but is out on his own recognizance, being a trustworthy moderator of his activities.

You might want to bookmark this page to keep track of the case. (You can also sign up for email alerts for free at this site)

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/60990565/united-states-v-bannon/

The subpoena was issued by the Jan. 6 committee on Sept. 23, 2021. Bannon was indicted on November 12, and waived arraignment. The first status conference was held November 18, and the substantive outcome was to set the next status conference:

Status Conference set for 12/7/2021 at 11:00 AM

At the December 7 status conference, we might expect the court to either set a schedule for the case, or to set a date for the parties to submit a proposed schedule for things like the deadline for preliminary motions (such as a motion to dismiss, which Bannon will certainly submit), rebuttals, and other procedural milestones that are anticipated to occur next year.

Obviously, Bannon will file a motion to dismiss, the government will oppose, and Bannon will rebut the opposition. Then, a hearing will be set to consider the motion to dismiss, at which the parties will argue their positions. After that, the court will issue a ruling on the motion to dismiss.

If the court does not dismiss the case, then the court may proceed to trial or may decide to wait until Bannon exhausts appeals of the ruling on the motion to dismiss. The appeal would be to the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, and then to the Supreme Court (which may, or may not, consider the appeal). Alternatively, after a three-judge ruling from the DC Circuit, Bannon might move for an "en banc" decision (i.e. request all of the judges of that Circuit to weigh in), which the Circuit Court may or may not grant. The clock on the appeals process is highly variable, and the Circuit Court may not find that a two-misdemeanor indictment is the most pressing matter to be calendared.

Assuming that all sorts itself out, or in parallel with it, the trial may proceed according to the DC District's trial calendar. It is likely to be pretty quick once it gets there, since there is not a whole lot to argue about. However, there will likely be a raft of motions to be decided first, of which the court might make quick work.

Once he has a trial, and is convicted, then he will have some new stuff to appeal (see appellate notes above).

Ultimately, however, in January 2023, the 117th Congress will be no more and the 118th Congress will begin, thus mooting the subpoena issued by a committee of the 117th Congress.

Now, Bannon got an early start here. Clearly, a Congressional subpoena issued too far into a Congressional term is pretty meaningless, since the Congress expires before the process runs out. If there is anyone else who is anticipated to defy a subpoena, then they are already running two months behind Bannon's process.

[FBaggins]

1. One correction

If this was a case of trying to get a court to enforce the subpoenas, then the end of the term would also end the subpoena. But it isn’t clear what happens in January - since he’s already been held in contempt. DOJ could continue the case - though if the House changes hands, there could be a challenge getting them to provide evidence

[Effete Snob]

2. Good point

It's kind of weird because it isn't like a contempt proceeding where you get locked up until you comply, so if the subpoena becomes moot, then the charges don't go away.

On the civil side of things, this one is interesting:

In Re SUBPOENA SERVED ON STEPHEN K. BANNON v. BANNON (1:20-mc-00091)
District Court, S.D. New York
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16846590/in-re-subpoena-served-on-stephen-k-bannon-v-bannon/

TLDR - he blew off a subpoena in a civil suit in mid-November 2019 in the DC District. The plaintiff obtained a decision on a motion to compel in December 2019. He blew that off too, so they filed the judgment in SDNY, and he got around to resolving the issues relating to that subpoena in January 2020, so nothing came of it.

One route would be for him to delay as long as possible and then, upon losing some level of appeal and having the Supreme Court not take up the case, say "Okay, I'll testify, but I just wanted my rights adjudicated" come, say November 2022.