Commentary: Big Tent Ideas

RICK MANNING: Steve Bannon’s Imprisonment Was All About Politics

(Screen Capture/CSPAN)

Steve Bannon’s release from federal prison on Oct. 29 after serving four months on the political charge of contempt of Congress is a stark reminder of the rules that the Democrats chose to enforce. It is galling to listen to Democrats worry about being imprisoned by a weaponized federal government under Donald Trump.

Bannon legally challenged whether he was allowed to testify before Congress based upon an executive privilege claim. Once he lost that appeal, he made the Democrat-controlled Congress aware that he was available to testify. Rather than welcoming his testimony, Democrats in Congress chose to press charges against him through the Biden appointed District of Columbia U.S. attorney.

A trial occurred where Bannon was not allowed to present an affirmative defense and the kangaroo D.C. jury found him guilty.

Imagine the uproar if this set of facts was used against any Democrat or never-Trump Republican.

The Democrats in D.C. have stripped off Lady Justice’s blindfold and now have the audacity to worry that her steady gaze is focused directly on them. Those who have committed crimes should be prosecuted, even though the truth is that no Democrat will be found guilty for politically motivated corruption by the very swamp they are protecting.

So, what can be done?

A reasonable approach is for Congress to simply restructure the federal appeals court system, eliminating the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and restricting the local court to only handle local cases similar to any other federal district. The disputes over federal regulatory policy should be assigned on a lottery basis to the remaining federal appeals court jurisdictions.

There is a reason why the Constitution created a unique federal district to house the federal government and its bureaucracy — and that is to deny that bureaucracy additional powers which flow from being able to vote on those who pay their salaries. It is a logical follow-on that the federal district should also be ineligible to have a court that decides disputes directly involving their power, and to imprison those who stand against their exercise of that power.

It is time for Congress to act on what I am calling the Bannon-Navarro-Stevens Act to end the D.C. Circuit Court as mentioned above but also to end prosecution of political corruption cases in the District.

After all, the Democrats achieved their 60-vote veto-proof majority that led to Obamacare and the disastrous federal takeover of student loans due to the corruption conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens on the eve of his election causing the Democrats to win that seat. Stevens’ conviction was overturned due to the outrageous abuse of power by federal prosecutors who withheld exculpatory information from the jury.

America can never again allow the weaponization of the federal government, and one of the best safeguards against it is to move judicial oversight over this weaponized government away from the seat of politicized corruption and back to America where a jury of your peers means a jury with Republicans, Democrats and Independents on it.

Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Screen Capture/CSPAN