Bannon held in contempt by House for defying attack subpoena
A key ally of expresident Donald Trump has been held in criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to testify before a panel investigating the January 6 invasion of the Capitol.
It came as President Joe Biden launched a blistering attack on Republicans, accusing them of following Mr Trump into a “deep black hole”, and slamming the January 6 rioters as “white supremacists”.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is in hot water over the role he may have had in the insurrection.
The House of Representatives voted to refer Mr Bannon to federal prosecutors to make a decision on whether to press charges.
Investigators see Mr Bannon’s testimony as pivotal to understanding Mr Trump’s actions before and during the deadly assault on a joint session of Congress to certify Mr Biden’s election victory.
Mr Bannon, 67, was supposed to appear before the cross-party select committee last week but said Mr Trump’s lawyers had instructed him not to show up, on the grounds of “executive privilege”.
Congress rejected the protection because Mr Bannon was not directly employed by Mr Trump at the time.
Meanwhile, Mr Biden used the backdrop of the Martin Luther King memorial in Washington to charge Republicans with following Mr Trump into a “deep black hole” of white supremacy and voter suppression.
The searing attack came at a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the memorial to the slain African-american civil rights hero on Washington’s National Mall.
Mr Biden said Republican state representatives had launched “an unrelenting assault” on access to free elections ahead of next year’s midterm legislative poll and the 2024 presidential vote.
“They’re following my predecessor, the last president, in a deep, deep black hole,” he said.