Two-shirt Stevie is a loser in so many, many ways, but in particular, he’s a legal loser.  If his case goes to court, he’s already lost.  Sure, it’s a question whether any legal authority will have the balls to enforce the law.  The “hapless Democrats” meme exists for a reason.  But the law itself?  That’s easy.  Bannon is a legal loser.

So, why am I so sure?  Because Bannon already capitulated. 

Dealing with a Subpoena

Here’s the deal when you get served a subpoena.  You have two legal options: comply or challenge.  “Comply” means providing everything the subpoena requires (documents, evidence, testimony) to the people or groups it lists by the deadline it dictates.  At a minimum, you show up and deliver something.

Or you can challenge a subpoena by filing a motion against it.  There are a ton of objections to choose from:  undue burden, privileged information, overly broad, self-incrimination, whatever you like.  If the group issuing the subpoena persists, everyone gets a day in court, and a judge decides.

But it always starts with a motion.  Instead, Bannon just ignored it, following the diktat of his master.  Bannon hid under his rock, snickering as his day in court came and went.  He committed his crime publicly and openly. And legally, that makes him just another loser on the run.

Consequences

And now Bannon is in two flavors of legal jeopardy.  First, he’s guilty of disobeying a valid subpoena.  Second, he’s still on the hook for all that testimony, evidence, and documentation.  Bannon’s lawyers can contest that second part, if they want, but not the first when Bannon breaks the laws over a hot mike.

This isn’t a capital crime. Disobeying a subpoena is a misdemeanor.

The punishment for such offense, upon conviction, shall be a fine of not more than $200, or imprisonment not to exceed ninety days, or both, at the discretion of the court…

43 U.S. Code § 104 – Disobedience to subpoena

There are supposed to be consequences when people don’t obey.  Subpoena translates to “under penalty.”  So far, though, the Democrats have allowed Trump’s minions to ignore every legal demand without the slightest inconvenience.  Bannon, already a convicted felon, is a guilty-as-sin legal loser.  Congress and the DOJ need to make an example of him.

Democratic Party Resolve

Kudos to the House for moving to contempt proceedings.  If that passes on Tuesday, it goes to Merrick Garland’s Justice Department.  The question now is whether a Democratic administration will act or just concede unilaterally.

I’m not hopeful.  This is still the modern Democratic Party.  Federal judges are asking why the DOJ soft-pedaling the prosecutions of the Capitol rioters.  AG Merrick Garland suggested releasing the few Jan. 6 insurrectionists in D.C. jail because it might radicalize them.  (The AG seems indifferent to the other 700 or so people in the D.C. Jail.  Is that because they’re brown, or because the insurrectionists are so white?  Hard to know.)

I’m sorry that The GOP abused Garland. He might have been a good Supreme Court justice. But McConnell’s betrayal only makes Garland a victim, not a hero.  Watching his limp direction as AG, I wonder if Obama nominated him because he’s the perfect party Democrat: hapless and oblivious to the truck bearing down on his life. Bannon’s criminality defiance isn’t a minor issue; it’s part of an active, accelerating insurrection.

If the Democratic Party does their usual passive groveling, they’ll let Bannon’s illegality slide.  “Just obey the subpoena a little, and we’ll forgive the rest.” They’ve done it before, over and over. The lesson will be clear: there are no actual rules.  Nobody will ever obey another Congressional subpoena from Democrats.

And with that, our Constitution will have failed.