What does the criminal contempt charge against Steve Bannon mean?

Watch the assault on the Capitol from the middle of the crowd 0:42

Washington (CNN) -

Members of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 bombing of the U.S. Capitol have shown that they are willing to file contempt complaints against witnesses who refuse to comply. panel citations.

But what does that mean?

Criminal contempt is one of three options that the Congressional panel can apply to enforce its subpoenas, along with civil and inherent contempt.

In the panel's first test of wills to pursue such a referral, the commission voted unanimously Tuesday night to refer Trump ally Steve Bannon to the Justice Department on charges of criminal contempt after he refused to meet a deadline. citation.

"It is a shame that Mr. Bannon has put us in this situation. But we will not take 'no' for an answer," the chairman of the commission, Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson, said before the vote.

"We believe that Mr. Bannon has information relevant to our investigation, and we will use the tools at our disposal to obtain that information."

advertising

Pence blames media for denigrating 2:01 Capitol attack

Here's what criminal contempt is and how it compares to civil and inherent contempt:

Criminal contempt

Now that Steve Bannon's criminal contempt referral has been approved by the commission, he is heading to the House for a vote.

If that vote is successful, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi certifies the report to the federal attorney for the District of Columbia.

By law, this certification then requires the federal prosecutor to "bring the matter before the grand jury for action," but the Department of Justice will also make its own prosecution decisions.

• ANALYSIS |

  Jan 6 commission exposes dark truth by going after Bannon

Anyone found liable for contempt of Congress is then guilty of a crime that can carry a fine and between one and 12 months in prison.

But this process is rarely invoked and rarely leads to jail.

As serious as a criminal contempt complaint may sound, the House's choice to go to the Justice Department may be more of a warning shot than a solution.

The indictment of criminal contempt of a person can take years, and historical cases of criminal contempt have been derailed by appeals and acquittals.

Civil contempt

Unlike criminal contempt, civil contempt would involve Congress asking the judiciary to enforce a congressional subpoena.

In other words, Congress would seek a civil judgment from a federal court saying that the person is legally bound to comply with the subpoena.

Why did Trump sue the commission investigating insurrection?

1:31

During the presidency of Donald Trump, the House tried this approach many times, but the judicial process moved so slowly that it took months or even years to resolve the clashes.

Some, like a House subpoena for Trump's Treasury statements, still linger before a trial judge.

• Commission investigating the January 6 attack approves report to declare Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress.

  What's next now?

Inherent contempt

The third option the panel could use to enforce its subpoenas would be inherent contempt, which involves telling the Senate or House sergeant-at-arms to detain or jail the person in contempt until they comply with the demands of Congress.

This is an extremely rare process and has not occurred in modern times.

CNN's Zachary Cohen, Ryan Nobles, Annie Grayer, Whitney Wild, and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.

Attack on the Capitol by Steve Bannon