Steve Bannon Indicted Over His Congressional No-Show

Update: A grand jury has indicted former Trump adviser Steve Bannon on charges of contempt of Congress, reports Axios. Bannon defied a congressional subpoena last month when he failed to show for a hearing called by the House panel investigating the Capitol riot in January. The House held him in contempt, and the grand jury indictment marks the next step toward possible punishment. Bannon was indicted on two counts, each of which carries a minimum of 30 days in jail and a maximum of one year, per the AP. It wasn't immediately clear when he was due in court. Our original story from Oct. 22 follows:

The House voted to hold Steve Bannon in contempt on Thursday, and the vote was mostly along party lines. As the Hill reports, nine Republicans bucked their leaders and voted with Democrats. They are:

• Liz Cheney of Wyoming
• Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
• Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
• Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state
• John Katko of New York
• Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
• Nancy Mace of South Carolina
• Peter Meijer of Michigan
• Fred Upton of Michigan

• Fallout: House GOP leaders urged the rank-and-file to vote against holding Bannon in contempt, though most of these nine were on the outs with the party already. Seven of them (all except Mace and Fitzpatrick) voted to impeach former President Trump, notes USA Today. Cheney and Kinzinger are actually on the Jan. 6 panel, the only Republicans to join.
• Bannon's hope? After the House vote, it's now up to the Justice Department to decide whether to prosecute Bannon. On MSNBC, Michael Wolff (a Newser co-founder) said Bannon would love to get a year in jail as punishment for defying the House committee. "He would be in heaven," said Wolff, due to the attention he would generate, per Mediaite. "He would literally be in heaven. This would make his career and his life.”
• A non-vote: Greg Pence of Indiana, brother of former VP Mike Pence, was the only member of the House not to vote on the contempt resolution, per the Republic. A spokesperson cited a family medical emergency and said Pence would have voted no.

(Former chief of staff Mark Meadows may soon be in the same boat as Bannon.)