President Donald Trump congratulates Stephen Bannon during the swearing-in of senior staff in the East Room --
Mandel Ngan/AFP/
During an appearance on MSNBC on Sunday with host Alex Witt, former Department of Justice official Harry Litman said there is no reason members of the House Jan 6th commission couldn't subpoena former White House adviser Steve Bannon again after he is, as expected, convicted for contempt of Congress in a federal court this week.
On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that Bannon's legal defense is in tatters and a conviction is expected after a very brief trial.
During his appearance on MSNBC, Littman said Bannon's legal problems are far from over after a conviction.
"What does that signal to other Trump allies, who are also refusing to comply with the committee's subpoenas?" host Witt asked.
RELATED: Steve Bannon's legal defense in tatters as judge hints he should seek a plea deal: report
"That's why they brought it as you say," the former deputy assistant attorney general replied. "There is a concrete cost here, at least for now they have not been able to get the testimony. Same is true with [Mark] Meadows, Dan Scavino and [Peter] Navarro. And they had to refer for contempt in order to actually sober up the other witnesses who are thinking of maybe being resistant as well."
Repeating "There is a cost," he added, "But when I'm looking for here is for him to be convicted -- and that may be -- and there is no reason, by the way, this goes for Meadows as well, and there is no reason why the committee cannot re-subpoena, and now he would have, you know he never did, but not even the slightest basis for refusing. But still, once they go into that system you can't get their testimony out until they have run the course."
Watch below: