Steve Bannon, the far-right Trump adviser who briefly served in the White House, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury for defying a subpoena by the House January 6 committee. The case is the first criminal contempt proceeding brought as part of the congressional panel’s inquiry into the attack on Congress 10 months ago. Given the stonewalling by other key witnesses, it may not be the last.
It’s tempting to see Bannon’s indictment as a victory for Congress and its oversight powers. Representatives Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney, the committee’s chair and vice chair, treated it as one. “Steve Bannon’s indictment should send a clear message to anyone who thinks they can ignore the Select Committee or try to stonewall our investigation: no one is above the law,” they said in a statement on Friday. “We will not hesitate to use the tools at our disposal to get the information we need.”
But the Bannon case looks more a nadir of sorts for congressional oversight power. Congress, of course, has held hearings and conducted inquiries since the founding of the republic. But we’re living in a different world now. Thanks to a corrosive mixture of hyperpartisan conflict and constitutional hardball, lawmakers have found it increasingly difficult to carry out those responsibilities through their own inherent powers. It’s hard to see how Congress ever recovers the full strength it once had.
