You break the law, you suffer the consequences. Ideally, that’s how our legal system works. Granted, it doesn’t always work that way. Too often historically marginalized people get shot in their cars for hanging air fresheners from their rearview mirrors—while at the same time radioactive orange apes rampage through our cities undermining civil society with virtually every step they take.
But sometimes witting scofflaws get their comeuppance, and when they happen to wear suits and ties, oh do the briny rivers of tears flow down from their rarefied redoubts.
The House voted Wednesday to hold former Trump White House aides Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro in criminal contempt of Congress over their decision to ignore subpoenas issued in connection with the House Jan. 6 committee’s investigation. As a result, the House will make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice, which could charge them with misdemeanors that would expose them to fines and up to a year in prison.
NBC News:
Both Navarro and Scavino snubbed subpoenas from the House Jan. 6 committee to testify and turn over documents relevant to last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted the 2020 electoral vote count during a joint session of Congress.
The committee has said Navarro, a trade adviser during the Trump administration, and Scavino, who served as White House deputy chief of staff, “played key roles in the ex-president’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.”
The panel has noted that Navarro publicly boasted about plans to upend the 2020 election results and published a book last year in which he referred to the plan as the "Green Bay Sweep."
First of all, stop calling it the Green Bay sweep. The famous ‘60s Packers sweep was meticulously planned, perfectly executed, and brutally efficient. Trump’s bumbling putsch was more like Mark Sanchez’s infamous butt fumble.
Secondly … aww. Are a couple of Trumpies actually going to face real consequences for once?
Well, not if GOP Rep. Jim Banks has anything to say about it.
BANKS: “So please let’s be honest with ourselves. A vote to hold Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro in contempt of Congress is a vote to put them in jail—for a year. Neither of these men deserve this. The party line isn’t a good enough excuse today. Disliking their politics isn’t an excuse. You know, Mr. Scavino has two boys. He’s a good dad. He doesn’t deserve this; his boys definitely don’t deserve this. So before we vote today, I’ve got to ask: Could anyone here explain to those boys why their dad deserves to be behind bars for a year.”
Yeah, I love the part of the law that says people can’t go to jail if they have kids. Though somehow all those vulnerable young children were utterly forgotten when Republicans voted on whether to extend President Biden’s family-supporting child tax credit.
Meanwhile, Banks’ white whine was met with an orchestra of nano-violins:
And finally, an informed take from the former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics:
Of course, unlike the thousands of children of currently incarcerated Americans, Navarro and Scavino could step out of the hot water they’re in at any time simply by complying with these lawfully issued subpoenas. But no. They’ve decided to go all-in on sedition.
That’s a choice. Maybe if Scavino’s kids are really concerned about this they could try to talk some sense into him. Then again, something tells me they may be better off this way.
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