‘The fat lady has sung:’ Expert says judge's ruling spells trouble for Trump, Bannon in Jan. 6 probe

A federal judge's decision Tuesday to reject former president Donald Trump's executive privilege claims should pave the way for Attorney General Merrick Garland to prosecute Steve Bannon for contempt, according to constitutional law scholar Laurence Tribe.

Tribe told MSNBC that he believes Garland should already have initiated a prosecution of Bannon, after the House referred to the Department of Justice a contempt citation against him for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating the Capitol insurrection.

However, Tribe added that it's possible Garland, out of an abundance of caution, was waiting for a judge to signal that Trump and his allies are not protected by executive privilege in the Capitol riot probe.

"If that's what he (Garland) was waiting for, he got it tonight, and if he does not move immediately, it will be inexcusable," Tribe said. "He will, in all effects and purposes, he will be obstructing Congress. He will be preventing the effectuation of a legitimate and crucial congressional investigation, because all of these guys who are getting subpoenaed have no particular incentive to comply if Steve Bannon can get away with stonewalling."

Tribe added that he expects the judge's ruling to be upheld on appeal — even if Trump tries to take it to the Supreme Court.

"The fat lady has sung, the music is over, and he's got to turn over the documents, and I think Bannon has got to be prosecuted," Tribe said. 'I think we're about to watch a very rapid show."

Watch below.

Laurence Tribe on MSNBCwww.youtube.com