January 6 Hearings: Steve Bannon Willing to Testify Before Panel

Former White House strategist and podcast host Steve Bannon has defied congressional subpoenas over the January 6 Capitol insurrection. However, after facing criminal charges against him for defying those subpoenas, he finally told Congress that he is willing to testify.

According to the Associated Press, Bannon sent a letter to Congress via his attorney, telling the lawmakers that he now wants to talk. This happened as Congress prepares to air some of the most striking revelations against Trump with what may be the final set of hearings on the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

Steve Bannon Among the High-Profile Trump Officials Who Refused to Testify

Steve Bannon faced two criminal counts of contempt of Congress last year for resisting the subpoenas. However, Bannon claimed that his testimony was protected by the claim made by Trump that he had executive privilege. The January 6 Committee, however, insists that the executive privilege claim is dubious, as Bannon was fired by Trump in 2017, and he was only consulting the then-President Trump as a private citizen in the lead-up to January 6.

As the January 6 Committee presented even more evidence against Trump, the former president grew even more frustrated and claimed that the committee was only presenting one side of the story. He then announced that he had waived his executive privilege claim. This would lead to Bannon now agreeing to testify before Congress, according to The Guardian.

Trump reportedly told Bannon that he would waive executive privilege for him and that he should testify "truthfully and fairly." He then went on to call the members of the committee Thugs and Hacks."

CNN reported that Bannon's legal team has already provided the January 6 committee with the letter Trump sent him, which waived executive privilege. Bannon lawyer Bob Costello said that "circumstances have now changed," and added that his client now prefers to testify.

January 6 Committee Interested About Bannon's Communications With President Trump in December 2020

Committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said that she and the other members of the committee are expecting to hear from him and that they have many questions they intend to ask. In previous interviews, Lofgren and other committee members have stated that they intend to have Bannon sit in a private interview, which they typically conduct in a deposition with sworn testimony, according to The Associated Press.

It is still unclear how much Bannon will cooperate with the investigation, as Bannon has expressed his preference of appearing before the committee in a public hearing. However, the committee made it clear that they must first conduct a private interview with him before the public hearing. He may appear in the private interview or deposition and refuse to answer any questions by citing his Fifth Amendment rights.

The January 6 Committee is interested in Bannon's testimony, as the podcast host had "specific knowledge" about the plans for January 6 before it even happened. In particular, the committee wants to hear about Bannon's communications with the former president in December 2020. It was reported that Bannon urged Trump to focus on the January 6 certification of the presidential election results.

Committee members also cited comments made by Bannon during his podcast on the day before the riot occurred. Bannon famously said it will be "an extraordinary event," and added, "All hell is going to break loose tomorrow." Bannon also hinted at a "revolution" happening in Washington and promised it would be "historic."

The next hearing will happen on Thursday, returning to prime time for the first time since the hearings started on June 9. Twenty million people tuned in to the hearings when it was aired during the prime time slot.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Steve Bannon may now be willing to testify before January 6 committee - CNN