Former Breitbart News spox calls on Nancy Pelosi to invoke inherent contempt and arrest Steve Bannon and Mark Meadows

Greg P. | 11:59 AM on December 08, 2021

Former Breitbart News spox and current DCCC advisor Kurt Bardella is urging his new Dem friends in Congress to “invoke inherent contempt right now and arrest” Steve Bannon and Mark Meadows.

“They do not fear you,” he tweeted. “You need a show of force”:

Democrats in Congress, understand that Steve Bannon and Mark Meadows do not think you have the stomach for this fight. They think they can out-fight and out-last you. They do not fear you. Invoke inherent contempt right now and arrest them. You need a show of force.

— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) December 8, 2021

First up, for those that aren’t up to speed on what inherent contempt actually means, here’s a summary from the Constitution Center:

The third type of contempt power—Congress’s dormant inherent contempt power—is rarely used in modern times. Inherent contempt was the mode employed by Congress to directly enforce contempt rulings under its own constitutional authority until criminal and civil contempt statutes were passed, and it remained in use into the twentieth century. Under inherent contempt proceedings, the House or Senate has its Sergeant-At-Arms, or deputy, take a person into custody for proceedings to be held in Congress.

And there was a minor boomlet about using inherent contempt during the Trump years, but the Washington Post pointed out back then just how dumb a move it would be:

In the mid-19th century, Congress jailed a journalist who proudly datelined his stories “Custody of the Sergeant at Arms.” They jailed a wealthy abolitionist who spent his time receiving sympathetic visitors and a real estate speculator who racked up the equivalent of $12,000 in food on Congress’s dime. A Herbert Hoover official was held at the posh Willard Hotel.

Also important: Congress doesn’t have a jail. It has held people in committee rooms before and could use the D.C. jails if it gets permission from the city. But for the most part, inherent contempt hasn’t proved to be the punishment lawmakers wanted it to be.