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Steve Bannon is the only person whose outright refuse to engage with the committee.

He thinks that if he simply obstructs Congress by not showing up,

he'll escape the consequences. But as Theodore Roosevelt said,

no man is above the law and no man is below the law.

Welcome to Talking Feds.

Around table that brings together prominent figures from government,

law, and journalism for a dynamic discussion of the most important topics of the day,

I'm Harry Lydman. It was a week of push coming to shove as a series of high stakes disputes

moved to an endgame with no clear picture of how they would come out.

The House voted to hold Trump-Confedon Steve Bannon in criminal contempt

and referred him to the Department of Justice for prosecution for non-compliance with a

subpoena from the January 6 select committee. Not just the efficacy of the committee's investigation,

but Congress's status as a co-equal branch seemed to be riding on the outcome.

The Department, however, has not followed through on such a referral in at least 50 years.

On the other hand, it hasn't received one of such importance and with such a weak

claim of executive privilege as Bannon has advanced. Meanwhile, all 50 Republicans in the House

refuse to permit the Freedom to Vote Act, a voting rights bill that West Virginia

Senator Joe Manchin helped craft to come to a vote. And the cry went up for many quarters

that the time has come for filibuster reform and that for the Democratic Party and the country,

the issue is an existential one. And in his first ever oversight hearing as attorney general,

...