Rep. Loudermilk presents legal brief supporting Bannon’s Supreme Court appeal

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), in conjunction with Trump-aligned America First Legal, filed an amicus brief Wednesday in support of Steve Bannon’s emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

It’s the latest show of support for Bannon from top House Republicans as he fights his disregard for Congress’ conviction, after top House Republican leaders said they will also file a legal brief in support of appeal efforts by Bannon.

Bannon was ordered to report to prison on July 1 after being found in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House select committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Bannon called on the Supreme Court to prevent the prison while appealing conviction in Washington, D.C. court

Republicans have long argued that the select committee’s Jan. 6 actions did not follow House rules and were therefore illegitimate, but they have so far been unsuccessful in the courts in making that argument.

That’s the basis, though, of Loudermilk’s argument — who is the chairman of the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee, which is investigating the actions of the Jan. 6 panel that Republicans boycotted in the last Congress.

“The Select Committee failed to comply with the rules governing its own procedures. Therefore, the case against Mr. Bannon for failing to appear for testimony is invalid, just like any criminal case,” Loudermilk said in a statement. will hold the Select Committee accountable and nullify its deeply flawed work conducted outside the bounds of legitimacy.”

America First Legal, a group led by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, filed the petition on behalf of Loudermilk. Dan Epstein, the organization’s vice president, said in a statement that Bannon’s accusation “lacks legal basis” due to the select committee’s alleged violations of House rules.

Among the arguments presented in Loudermilk legal summary is that the committee could not conduct the depositions properly because it did not have a senior member appointed by the Republican leader.

Then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) nominated Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) to be the ranking member of the Jan. 6 select committee, but then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif.) blocked Banks and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) from participating in the panel.

In response, Republican leaders refused to serve on the committee, and Pelosi named Trump-critical Republican representatives Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) to serve on the panel, thus defending him. as bipartisan – what the Republicans disputed.

This is not the only show of support for Bannon from top House Republicans.

Earlier Wednesday, top House Republican leaders announced that the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group — a bipartisan group made up of the top five House leaders that directs the House in taking legal positions — voted along party lines to proceed with an amicus brief to the federal court in D.C. that is hearing Bannon’s appeal.

“This will remove certain arguments made by the House early in the litigation over the organization of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol during the previous Congress,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) , House Majority Leader. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Majority Leader Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said in a joint statement. “House Republican leadership continues to believe that Speaker Pelosi abused her authority in organizing the Select Committee.”

And Banks also encouraged the Speaker of the House to support Bannon’s appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Justice Department on Wednesday filed its response to Bannon’s Supreme Court filing, arguing that Bannon “cannot make the requirement necessary to override the normal requirement that a convicted defendant begin serving his sentence.”

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story