riot urged fellow representatives today to move forward on a vote to refer trump adviser steve bannon for criminal contempt after he defied a subpoena. >> we're not asking to talk to steve bannon on a whim. we believe he has firsthand specific knowledge that the congress needs to have to conduct our investigation. >> reporter: cnn has learned the gop leaders are recommending a no note on the referral and trump allies saying the investigation is an attempt to distract from biden's failures. >> can't talk about inflation, real wages going down. >> the border crisis that is concerning them. the problems we have abroad. this is all just theater to set up the utilization of criminal process against steve bannon. >> give me a break. this is a political theater, i don't know what is. >> reporter: but representative liz cheney reminded lawmakers