BIlly Long: In defense of Steve Bannon

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

If it wasn't for partisan politics we'd have no politics. If you don't believe me just Google 'Linda Sanchez flips off Republican bench.' It was last night during the annual Congressional Baseball game that originated in 1909. It's a fun filled evening with camaraderie between Republicans and Democrats as we all come together to raise money for charity and last night's game raised $1.7 million. 

Ms. Sanchez (D-CA) took this lighthearted congenial competition as an opportunity to flip off the Republican dugout as she jogged past. Which brings us to today's column regarding how Republicans and Democrats are treated differently by the Department of Justice. 

Reference Steve Bannon, a populist ideologue and the political target of the Left, who recently fell casualty to the hyperbolic anti-Trump witch hunt that is the January 6th Select Committee. The move can only be described as a textbook example of Democrats' weaponization of government authority to maintain political dominance in D.C.

Bannon was indicted and convicted of contempt of Congress. What was his crime? Refusal to hand over personal communications to Nancy Pelosi's committee, which has spent 8 million dollars trying to smear Trump and Republicans via televised hearings. 

However, Steve Bannon's criminal conviction is unique. 

It seems that whenever a prominent Democrat is charged by the House of Representatives with Contempt of Congress, the Department of Justice (DOJ) does nothing with the case. The Democrats seem to share Groucho Marx' principals. Groucho famously said "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others."

The most notable example was in 2012 when the House voted to hold then Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over his failure to turn over documents related to the 'Fast and Furious' gun running scandal which resulted in the release of over 2,000 weapons by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to suspected criminals. The theory was to release all of these guns to criminals and then see where they end up and nab those same criminals. What? 

The DOJ Inspector General cleared Holder of any wrongdoing that same year. Still, the Attorney General refused to comply with a Congressional subpoena and was held in Contempt by the House. You would think that the DOJ would be concerned about this failure to appear, but apparently they weren’t.

No charges were ever brought against Attorney General Holder. I remember well the day he was held in contempt and it just so happened the White House picnic was held that night and people were coming up to get selfies with him like he was a rockstar.

It's clear that the Democrats will protect their own. Prominent Democrats don't get charged for refusing to comply with a Congressional subpoena, only Republicans do. Eric Holder's case, in particular, is an apples-to-apples comparison to Steve Bannon's with the notable exception that one is a Republican apple and the other is a Democrat apple. 

Both withheld documents, but Bannon was held to a different standard. It’s all because of who the Democrats are attacking. This whole charade is collateral damage to the main objective of smearing Trump. 

However, unlike Holder, Bannon is not a prominent Democratic official. Subsequently, Steve Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress in the bright blue district of Washington D.C while Holder was never charged. As Steve Bannon walked out of court there were no long lines clamoring for a selfie with him.