Top Democrat wants to begin ‘contempt of Congress’ proceedings against Steve Bannon

A top Democrat says that the House Intelligence Committee should begin contempt of Congress proceedings against Steve Bannon, a former top strategist for President Donald Trump, because he has continued to refuse to testify for the committee's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Rep Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the committee, says that the proceedings should begin if Mr Bannon continues to subvert a subpoena filed against him.

“Testifying before the special counsel does not obviate Mr Bannon’s obligations under the subpoena issued by the committee. Should Bannon maintain his refusal to return and testify fully to all questions, the committee should begin contempt proceedings to compel his testimony,” Mr Schiff said in a statement.

Mr Schiff said that Mr Bannon’s attorney notified the committee that the White House had only green-lit 14 yes-or-no questions during testimony, according to Reuters. The Democrat says the questions cover a range of issues from Mr Trump’s election, his inauguration, his tenure at the White House, and any communications with the President since.

Notably, Mr Schiff says, the “ban” on open testimony comes even though Mr Trump has not invoked executive privilege.

But Republicans on the committee say that Mr Bannon’s appearance before the panel was postponed because of the committee, not Mr Bannon.

“We look forward to having him before the committee once we can assure that he will be able to thoroughly answer all our questions without concerns regarding the scope of executive privilege” a spokesperson for Rep Mike Conway, one of the members overseeing the panel’s investigation, said in a statement.

News broke Monday that Mr Bannon would not testify before the pane on Tuesday, when the committee had asked him to appear. The committee is seeking a second round of testimony from Mr Bannon after a Jan 16 appearance, which reportedly did not satisfy the panel.

Sources have indicated that Mr Bannon is expected to be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller next week, and that he plans on answering any and all questions posed.