Wednesday 20th October 2021
No statement about Capitol Storm
Ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon is due to go to court
The Democrats in the House of Representatives are served: Trump’s ex-advisor Steve Bannon does not appear before the committee that is investigating the background to the storm on the Capitol in Washington despite a summons. Now they no longer rule out legal action.
The committee of inquiry to come to terms with the storming of the US Capitol has spoken out in favor of criminal action against right-wing populist strategist Steve Bannon. The panel unanimously adopted a report finding Bannon’s obstruction to Congress. The former advisor to ex-President Donald Trump did not appear before the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the events on January 6 last Thursday despite a subpoena and refused to testify.
He relied on the so-called executive privilege of the president. This allows the head of state to withhold certain information. However, the Democrats argue that this privilege exists only for incumbent presidents, not for former presidents. In addition, Bannon did not work for the government during the period he was supposed to testify. “Mr Bannon has no legal basis to ignore the committee’s lawful subpoena,” said Committee Vice-Chair Liz Cheney. The House of Representatives, which is controlled by the Democrats, will decide in plenary session on Thursday whether to submit some kind of complaint against Bannon to the Justice Department.
The former Trump adviser “owes it to his country to testify,” said the Democratic majority leader in the House of Representatives, Steny Hoyer. The Ministry of Justice would then have to decide on an indictment against the 67-year-old. Bannon could theoretically face up to twelve months in prison, but a fine would be more likely. “Mr. Bannon will submit to our investigation or he will face the consequences,” said committee chairman Bennie Thompson. He warned other witnesses not to ignore subpoenas from the committee. “If you are considering going the path that Mr Bannon has chosen, you know you must expect it,” he said, referring to the punishment that Bannon could face.
Trump puts ex-employees under pressure
Radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in January when the election victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election on November 3rd was to be certified there. Five people were killed. The House of Representatives subsequently set up a committee of inquiry to uncover the background to the storming of the Capitol.
Among other things, former employees of the Republican are to be interviewed, in addition to Bannon, Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows. Trump demands of them, however, to refuse to testify. To this day, the Republican has not acknowledged his electoral defeat by Joe Biden. The 75-year-old continues to spread the false claim that he was deprived of a second term through massive electoral fraud. Trump, who is still very popular with the party base, repeatedly flirts publicly with a possible candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.