It’s been almost a month since the House approved a criminal contempt resolution against Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon for his refusal to provide testimony to the Select Committee about his role in the January 6 insurrection, and the lack of action from Attorney General Merrick Garland is baffling to many legal experts.
“I find it baffling and it looks like dithering to me, frankly,” CNN’s chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said on Thursday as he slammed the Justice Department for dragging their feet on the criminal referral against Bannon.
“It’s been more than a month that it’s been clear that this issue was coming down the line. They have a lot of smart lawyers at the Justice Department,” Toobin added before warning that the DOJ’s slow reaction has led other Trump officials to refuse to cooperate.
He added: “The idea that it takes them this long is really pretty shocking to me and it is having a real material impact. All of these witnesses are yanking the chain of the January 6th Committee because they know there are no consequences, at least so far. And this is an investigation that has to be over in a limited amount of time. So the delay of a month, even of bringing a charge, is very consequential and damaging for this committee.”
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Toobin is not the only one concerned about the DOJ’s slowness on Bannon’s case.
Democratic strategist Kurt Bardella fired a shot on Twitter, asking: “How the f*ck is Steve Bannon still a free man?”
Others, line liberal group “Free Speech for People,” are even calling on Garland to resign, suggesting that since he “is unwilling to step up, it is time for him to step down,” according to CNN.
Watch Toobin’s remarks below:
