Steve Bannon makes an about-face: the ex-adviser to Donald Trump has finally agreed to testify before the parliamentary committee responsible for investigating the bloody attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, a few days before the start of a trial targeting him for obstructing the investigation, US media reported on Sunday.
“Mr. Bannon wishes, and in fact prefers, to testify in your public hearing”wrote his lawyer Robert Costello on Saturday in a letter quoted by these media.
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Steve Bannon is among dozens of people called to testify in the assault on the US Congress on Capitol Hill that left five people dead and undermined American democracy. He initially refused to testify and was charged last November with obstructing the investigation.
“Take me to the Capitol now!” » : Trump would have tried to join the rioters in January 2021
No legal protection for Trump
On January 6, 2021, thousands of supporters of outgoing Republican President Donald Trump gathered in Washington to denounce the result of the November 2020 presidential election, won by Democrat Joe Biden. Investigators believe Steve Bannon and other Donald Trump advisers may have information about White House ties to the mob that swarmed the Capitol that day in an attempt to block victory certification. by Joe Biden.
Although Steve Bannon was not employed by the White House at the time and was no longer an official adviser to Donald Trump, his lawyers had invoked the protection of the right of presidents to keep certain documents and discussions confidential so that he does not appear before the commission of inquiry in October 2021. The commission found that this protection does not apply because Donald Trump is no longer president and has never formally asserted this executive privilege.
Assault on the Capitol: what is the risk of Trump, at the center of an “attempted coup”?
Steve Bannon had been charged in November 2021 with“impediment” the investigative powers of Congress and the date for the start of his trial was then set for July 18. According to Mr. Costello’s letter, Steve Bannon told the commission of inquiry that “circumstances have now changed”.
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Bannon was part of the crisis unit
“President Trump has decided that it would be in the interest of the American people to waive executive privilege for Stephen K. Bannon in order to authorize Mr. Bannon to comply with the subpoena issued by your commission”she adds.
The testimony of Steve Bannon, aged 68, is seen as essential because it is supposed to help understand what Donald Trump was doing before and during the assault. The day before, Steve Bannon had said on a podcast that “everything converges and it’s time to attack”.
Capitol assault: Former Trump insiders describe man ‘detached from reality’ after his defeat
Steve Bannon, a discreet but very influential adviser, had played a crucial role in the election of Donald Trump in 2016 before being pushed out the following year. He was not performing any official duties on Jan. 6 but appears to have discussed the protest with the president in the days prior, according to the commission of inquiry. He was notably part of the ” crisis unit “ led by Donald Trump advisers from a luxury Washington hotel before and after the assault on the seat of Congress.
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