Assault on the Capitol: Bannon charged with disregard of Congress

Storm on the Capitol
Bannon charged with disobeying Congress

Did Steve Bannon know about the plans to storm the Capitol in advance? MPs have this suspicion. But Trump’s former strategist refuses to testify before the investigative committee – and is now being charged for it.

Influential US right-wing populist Steve Bannon has been charged with failing to testify before the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the Capitol storming on January 6th. As the US Justice Department announced, a so-called grand jury brought two charges against the former chief strategist of ex-President Donald Trump for obstructing Congress.

The 67-year-old is charged with failing to comply with a summons from the U-Committee of the House of Representatives. He is also accused of refusing to hand over the requested documents.

If convicted, Bannon faces a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year imprisonment for each charge, the US Department of Justice said. In addition, a fine of up to $ 1,000 is possible on either count.

Congressional obstruction charges

Bannon had failed to appear before the committee of inquiry in October, despite a subpoena. The House of Representatives therefore moved charges of obstruction to Congress against the longtime Trump confidante, who played a central role in the 2016 election campaign and during Trump’s first few months in office. A committee of lay judges called the grand jury had to decide on an indictment.

Radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, when the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election on November 3, 2020 was to be certified there. The attack, which made headlines around the world, killed five people. The investigative committee set up by the House of Representatives is supposed to clarify the exact background of the attack.

The panel has summoned a number of former Trump employees. The committee of inquiry considers Bannon to be a key figure in the storming of the Capitol and therefore a key witness. Bannon already knew in advance that there would be violence on January 6th.

The committee of inquiry relies, among other things, on a statement by Bannons in his own podcast the day before the storming of the Capitol. The right-wing populist predicted that “hell will break out”. On January 6, Bannon is also said to have stayed with other Trump confidants in a kind of informal command center that had been set up in the luxurious Willard Hotel near the White House.

Executive privilege for Bannon too?

In refusing to cooperate with the committee of inquiry, Bannon relies on an alleged executive privilege of Trump. This allows the ex-president to withhold certain information, which is why he – Bannon – could not testify. The Democrats argue, however, that this privilege exists only for incumbent presidents, not for former presidents.

Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, argues similarly to Bannon. He refused to appear before the investigative committee on Friday. Because of this, he is also threatened with criminal action.

In addition to the interviews, the MPs also want to see the White House files from around January 6th, which are now stored in the National Archives. Trump also wants to prevent that with reference to his alleged executive privilege. While a federal judge approved the handover of the documents on Tuesday, this decision was initially put on hold by an appeals court on Thursday.

The court scheduled a hearing on November 30th. The case should ultimately end up in the US Supreme Court, the Supreme Court in Washington.

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