Biden says DOJ should prosecute those who defy Jan. 6 committee subpoenas

(CNN) — President Joe Biden connected Friday said those who garbage subpoenas from the House prime committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot astatine the US Capitol should beryllium prosecuted by the Justice Department.

Asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins what his connection is to those who garbage subpoenas from the panel, Biden said, “I anticipation that the committee goes aft them and holds them accountable.”

Pressed connected whether helium thinks those radical should beryllium prosecuted by the department, the President said, “I do, yes.”

The President’s comments, the strongest yet from Biden connected imaginable repercussions for those who garbage to cooperate with the prime committee’s requests, upended days of subject from the White House, which has sought to region itself from the House’s expected transgression contempt referral against Steve Bannon.

White House property caput Jen Psaki had cited the department’s independency successful making prosecutorial decisions erstwhile asked astir it connected Thursday, and past week she had declined to accidental whether the White House had discussed specified enforcement with Attorney General Merrick Garland oregon anyone astatine the Department of Justice.

“That would beryllium up to the Department of Justice, and it would beryllium their purview to determine. They’re an autarkic agency,” she told reporters astatine a White House property briefing connected Oct. 8. “They’re independent. They would — they would find immoderate determination connected transgression prosecutions. I’d constituent you to them and, of course, the committee.”

And Justice officials person avoided revealing what they volition bash with the referral, which hasn’t been utilized to prosecute anyone successful decades.

Department spokesperson Anthony Coley said Friday that “the Department of Justice volition marque its ain autarkic decisions successful each prosecutions based solely connected the facts and the law. Period. Full stop.”

The prime committee announced connected Thursday that it was moving guardant to clasp Bannon, an state of erstwhile President Donald Trump, successful transgression contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena.

“Mr. Bannon has declined to cooperate with the Select Committee and is alternatively hiding down the erstwhile President’s insufficient, blanket, and vague statements regarding privileges helium has purported to invoke,” Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who chairs the committee, said successful a connection connected Thursday.

Bannon was scheduled for a deposition successful beforehand of the committee connected Thursday, but his lawyer wrote successful a missive to the sheet the time earlier that his lawsuit volition not supply grounds oregon documents until the committee reaches an statement with Trump implicit enforcement privilege oregon a tribunal weighs successful connected the matter.

The adjacent measurement for the committee to determination guardant with transgression contempt for Bannon is to clasp a concern meeting, which Thompson said would beryllium connected Tuesday. In that meeting, the committee volition follow a contempt report, which outlines the efforts it made to get the witnesser to comply with the subpoena and the nonaccomplishment by the witnesser to bash so.

This study is past referred to the House for a vote. If the ballot succeeds, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi certifies the study to the US lawyer for the District of Columbia. Under law, this certification past requires the US lawyer to “bring the substance earlier the expansive assemblage for its action,” but the Justice Department volition besides marque its ain determination for prosecuting.

Any idiosyncratic who is recovered liable for contempt of Congress is past blameworthy of a transgression that whitethorn effect successful a good and betwixt 1 and 12 months’ imprisonment.

Holding Bannon successful transgression contempt done a prosecution, however, could instrumentality years, and historical transgression contempt cases person been derailed by appeals and acquittals.

Three different Trump allies besides look subpoena deadlines this week. Two of them, Trump’s erstwhile main of unit Mark Meadows and erstwhile medication authoritative Kash Patel, person been “engaging” with the committee, according to the panel, though it remains unclear if that interaction amounts to immoderate signifier of cooperation. The prime committee agreed to abbreviated postponements of Patel’s and Meadows’ appearances arsenic they proceed to prosecute with the investigation, a committee adjutant told CNN connected Thursday.

Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a subordinate of the January 6 prime committee, told CNN connected Friday that she was not acrophobic with Biden’s weighing successful connected the substance of subpoena enforcement and that she believes Bannon is “obliged” to attest earlier the committee.

“He needs to travel in, helium needs to testify, helium needs to supply the documents that we’ve asked for. It’s his motivation obligation, it’s his ineligible obligation, and we expect him to fulfill that,” the California Democrat told CNN’s Erin Burnett connected “OutFront.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, who’s besides a subordinate of the committee, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper connected Friday that helium believes Biden wasn’t instructing the Department of Justice to prosecute Bannon but was conscionable voicing his hopes for however the section would respond.

“The archetypal happening helium said was that the committee should aggressively enforce our close to get people’s grounds and to get the documents we’ve subpoenaed, and there’s nary occupation with that,” the Maryland Democrat said. “I besides don’t person a occupation with him arsenic a national similar maine saying helium hopes the Department of Justice volition aggressively enforce the instrumentality truthful radical don’t get distant with committing crimes similar this.”