Trump adviser Bannon charged after defying subpoena for Capitol riots

Article content

Stephen Bannon, a prominent adviser to former US President Donald Trump, has been criminally charged with defying a subpoena issued by a Congressional committee investigating the Jan.6 attack on Capitol Hill, the Justice Department said Friday.

Article content

Bannon has refused to cooperate with the House Select Committee seeking his testimony and documents, citing Trump’s insistence, already rejected by a judge, that he has the right to keep requested material confidential under legal doctrine. called executive privilege.

Bannon, 67, was charged with one count of contempt of Congress for refusing to appear for a deposition and a second count for refusing to produce documents. Contempt of Congress is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $ 1,000, the Justice Department said.

Justice Department spokesman Bill Miller said “Bannon is expected to turn himself in” in Washington on Monday and appear in court for the first time that afternoon.

Article content

Trump has tried to thwart the committee, which is examining his actions related to the deadly riot on Capitol Hill, and ordered his former associates not to cooperate. The charges against Bannon may bolster the committee’s efforts to obtain testimony and documents from other Trump associates.

Bannon’s impeachment was announced just hours after Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, refused to appear for a deposition before the committee, also risking being found in contempt of Congress.

As a senior adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and later served as chief White House strategist, Bannon helped articulate the right-wing “America First” populism and fierce opposition to immigration that helped define the presidency. of Trump.

Article content

Bannon, who has championed a variety of right-wing causes and candidates in the United States and abroad, continued to offer advice to Trump after leaving the White House in 2017. Bannon is a prominent figure in media circles in the United States. right and previously ran the Breitbart News website.

“The impeachment of Steve Bannon should send a clear message to anyone who believes they may ignore the Select Committee or try to obstruct our investigation: No one is above the law,” said Democrat Bennie Thompson and Republican Liz Cheney, the leaders. of the committee, in a statement.

Bannon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is the second time in 15 months that Bannon has faced criminal charges. Bannon was indicted in August 2020 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-bannon/steve-bannon-key-to-trumps-rise-charged-with-defrauding-border-wall-supporters – idUSKBN25G1J4 with defrauding donors of We Build the Wall, a private fundraising effort to push Trump’s wall project along the US-Mexico border, and arrested aboard a yacht belonging to a fugitive Chinese billionaire. Trump subsequently issued a reprieve https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-pardons/trump-pardons-ex-aide-bannon-but-not-himself-or-family-idUSKBN29P0BE to Bannon prior to that. case could go to trial.

Article content

The Democratic-led House voted to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress in October. Most of Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress opposed the creation of an independent commission or committee to investigate the events surrounding January 6.

That day, a crowd of Trump supporters rioted on Capitol Hill in a failed attempt to avoid formal congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. Before the riot, Trump gave a speech to his supporters repeating his false claims that his election was stolen and urging them to go to Capitol Hill and “fight like hell” to “stop the robbery.”

The committee has said that Bannon made public statements suggesting that he knew in advance about the “extreme events” that would occur on January 6. Bannon said on a Jan. 5 podcast that “all hell will break loose tomorrow.”

Article content

After the House voted to hold Bannon in contempt, it was up to Biden’s Justice Department, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, to decide whether to press charges. Garland in a statement Friday said his department “adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts and the law, and seeks equal justice under the law.”

Trump sued the committee and the National Archives, which have material dating back to his presidency, on Oct. 18 in an attempt to keep hundreds of pages of records secret. A judge rejected Trump’s lawsuit on Tuesday, saying the public interest in learning about Trump’s actions on January 6 was paramount. Trump appealed that ruling.

The last successful prosecution for contempt of Congress was in 1974 when a judge convicted G. Gordon Liddy, a conspirator in the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixon resigning.