Steve Bannon willing to testify to Jan. 6 committee after Trump waives executive privilege
Both the committee and full House voted to hold him in contempt of Congress.
Overnight Sunday, the committee received a letter from Bannon’s lawyer stating the former adviser would testify.
“Mr. Bannon was obligated to honor the President’s invocation (of executive privilege), unless and until, either your Committee reached a constitutionally required accommodation with President Trump as to the invocation of executive privilege or your Committee obtained a ruling from the Federal District Court that the invocation of executive privilege was improper or did not apply to the particular question or document sought,” attorney Robert Costello wrote. “While Mr. Bannon has been steadfast in his convictions, circumstances have now changed.”
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Bannon faces trial on contempt charge
Bannon, who was White House chief strategist for the first few months of Donald Trump’s presidency, refused to comply with subpoenas from the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. The Select Committee voted unanimously Oct. 19 to hold Bannon in congressional contempt.
“Mr. Bannon stands alone in his complete defiance of our subpoena,” Thompson said at the time. “That’s not acceptable. No one in this country, no matter how wealthy or how powerful, is above the law.”
The full House voted two days later, 229-202. All Democrats voted in favor; most Republicans voted against.
Bannon was then indicted by the Justice Department on a contempt charge and is facing a trial start date of July 18 on that charge.
Committee member Rep. Jaime Raskin suggested Bannon, “after watching, presumably, all of these people come forward, you know, including Cassidy, Hutchinson, you know, he’s decided that he wants to come in and if he wants to come in, I’m certain that the committee would be very interested in hearing from him.”
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Both Raskin, who spoke to CBS News, and Lofgren indicated Bannon would first be deposed under oath, in private, by the committee, just as other witnesses have been.
The committee’s next hearing is at 1 p.m. Tuesday, with another following in prime-time on Thursday.
Contributing: Kevin Johnson