Former Trump aide Steve Bannon was charged with contempt of Congress in late November after refusing to help the Jan. 6 commission. Other former aides to then-President Donald J. Trump have agreed to cooperate with the Jan. 6 commission.

   The Jan. 6 commission was something only Democrats supported in the beginning but Republicans too supported the creation after public backlash.

   After Bannon refused to cooperate with the commission, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged him with contempt of Congress. The charges against Bannon include failing to appear for a deposition and refusing to hand over documents. He faces hefty fines and possible jail time if found guilty.

   Bannon turned himself in but still swore that he was completely innocent.

   The Vice Chair of the committee, Liz Cheney stated that “we will not hesitate to use the tools at our disposal to get the information we need.” This statement came before the committee began to search far and wide for all former Trump aides who were present during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

   Bannon recently announced that he would like to push the trial back to just before he 2022 midterms. Those who oppose the idea see this as a tactic to make the Democrats lose their majority in one and possibly both houses of Congress. Losing one house will be a road bump for Democrats, but losing both will be catastrophic to their plans.

   Bannon has not publicly stated why he wants his trial to be delayed.

   The DOJ stated that Bannon’s trial could start and end all in a day if the two sides would agree on anything. It wants to do so before April 15. One of the attorneys on Bannon’s team released a statement saying that the trial could take up to 10 days before a verdict is found.

   Bannon has the support of Donald Trump and his die-hard supporters and he is aware of it. This could be why Bannon has asked the court to deny shielding court documents and records of the trial, allowing the public to see. He hopes this move will help him win the public over and further the public’s disappointment in President Joe Biden and the democrats, and maybe even sway public opinion enough for another Republican power grab in both the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential election.

   The DOJ has no scheduled date for the trial and it’s most likely to remain that way if both parties continue to disagree about minor things.