Steve Bannon faces arrest for refusing to testify on Capitol attack
A WARRANT was last night issued for the arrest of Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former adviser, who was indicted after refusing to testify to Congress about the deadly Jan 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Mr Bannon, who investigators suspect could have information on links between the White House and the Trump supporters who invaded the Capitol, was charged last night with two counts of contempt for refusing to appear for a deposition and refusing to supply documents to the committee.
The House Select Committee had said it had reason to believe the 67-yearold
former chief strategist had “information relevant to understand important activities that led to and informed the events at the Capitol”.
The indictment indicates the Department of Justice is willing to seek criminal charges against allies of Mr Trump, many of whom refused to co-operate.
The House has so far subpoenaed several other members of Mr Trump’s circle, including Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff, former press secretary Kayleigh Mcenany and top aides Stephen Miller and Jason Miller.
Mr Trump, who is accused of inciting followers to protest against the results of the 2020 presidential election, had directed his former aides and advisers to invoke immunity and refrain from turning over documents that might be protected under executive privilege.
A judge in a federal court in Washington signed an arrest warrant shortly after the decision, noting each count carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail.
Legal experts noted that the Justice Department has not charged anyone with criminal contempt of Congress in 38 years, since 1983.
The House voted last month to hold Mr Bannon in contempt after he similarly defied a committee subpoena to talk about his role in the violent attack.
At a Jan 6 “Stop the Steal” rally, Mr Trump had given a speech to his supporters repeating his false claims that the election was stolen from him through election fraud and urging them to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell”.
The committee looking into the events of that day said Mr Bannon made public statements suggesting he knew ahead of time about “extreme events” that would take place. Mr Bannon told his podcast on Jan 5, one day before the protest, that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”
The news of Mr Bannon’s indictment came on the same day Mr Meadows refused to appear for a scheduled deposition before the select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection.
Mr Meadows, a former Republican congressman from North Carolina, was Mr Trump’s top aide in the time between his loss in the November election and the insurrection, and was one of several people who put pressure on state officials to overturn the results.