Steve Bannon surrenders to US authorities over contempt charges stemming from January 6 Capitol riots
Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon has been taken into custody over charges related to the January 6 Capitol riots.
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Steve Bannon, a former Adviser to President Donald Trump, turned himself in to federal authorities on Monday, days after being indicted on two counts of contempt of Congress.
The New York Post reports that Bannon, 67, spoke with the media as he entered the FBI’s Washington field office and live streamed on Conservative social media site Gettr saying, “I don’t want anybody to take their eye off the ball what we do every day.”
“We got the Hispanics going on our side, Americans coming on our side. We’re taking down the Biden regime,” he said while plugging some of his guests on his show War Room.
“Remember, signal, not noise,” he said. “This is all noise, that’s signal.”
Mr Bannon’s surrender comes three days after he was indicted on Friday by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress for flouting a subpoena issued by the Democrat-led House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot — refusing to show up to testify, citing Mr Trump’s argument that his conversations with the ex-president should be protected under “executive privilege.”
He faces a minimum of 60 days in jail if convicted on both counts and up to a total of two years in jail with fines of up to $US2000.
Mr Bannon is expected to appear in District Court later today.
Investigators believe Mr Bannon and other aides and advisors to Mr Trump could have information on links between the White House and the mob that invaded the Capitol, on the day it was due to certify Joe Biden as winner of the November 2020 presidential election.
The indictment was a significant victory for the House Select Committee, which is battling efforts by Mr Trump to use presidential privilege to block the committee from obtaining testimony and documents necessary for the probe.
“Steve Bannon’s indictment should send a clear message to anyone who thinks they can ignore the Select Committee or try to stonewall our investigation: no one is above the law,” said committee chair Bennie Thompson and vice chair Liz Cheney in a statement.
The attack, during which five people died, succeeded in delaying the joint House-Senate election certification session for several hours.
A key witness, Mr Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, could also face charges of contempt after refusing to be interviewed by the committee on Friday.
Mr Bannon’s and Mr Meadows’ cases could hinge on an ongoing court fight between the committee and Mr Trump over executive privilege.
Mr Trump is fighting the committee’s request for documents from his administration now in the National Archives.
After Mr Biden, as serving president, waived privilege over the documents, the federal court in Washington rejected Mr Trump’s challenge.
Mr Trump has since appealed, and the case, which could go to the Supreme Court, is now focused on never-before-tested clashing privilege stances by a serving and former president.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and is republished here with permission
Originally published as Steve Bannon surrenders to US authorities over contempt charges stemming from January 6 Capitol riots
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