Assault on Capitol Hill: Steve Bannon indicted for refusing to testify

Published on : 11/13/2021 – 07:52

Steve Bannon, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, was charged on Friday November 12 with “obstructing” the investigative prerogatives of Congress, a clear message to other witnesses tempted to ignore the commission’s subpoenas parliamentary inquiry.

The 67-year-old former adviser is being sued for refusing to testify and submit documents to the House of Representatives special committee investigating Donald Trump’s role in his supporters’ attack on Capitol Hill on January 6 .

This indictment “should send a clear message to all those who think they can ignore the commission or try to obstruct our investigation: no one is above the law,” responded Bennie Thompson, Democratic chairman of the commission. investigation.

Despite his summons in mid-October, Steve Bannon did not appear before elected officials invoking the right of presidents to keep certain documents and discussions confidential.

>> To read also: “Assault on the Capitol: towards an indictment of Steve Bannon”

But according to the commission, this protection does not apply because Donald Trump is no longer president and has never officially asserted this privilege of the executive.

Steve Bannon, a low-key but very influential adviser, had played a crucial role in the election of Donald Trump by giving a decidedly populist turn to the Republican billionaire’s campaign in 2016, before being pushed out the following year.

He was in no official position on January 6 but appears to have discussed the protest with the president in the previous days, according to the commission of inquiry.

He was notably part of the “crisis cell” led by advisers to Mr. Trump from a luxury hotel in Washington before and after the assault on the seat of Congress.

He faces between 30 days and a year in prison on each count and will be tried in federal court. But the legal battle could take months or years, potentially undermining the investigation.

A Republicans’ victory in the midterm parliamentary elections in November 2022 would also mark the end of the investigation.

“Piece of the puzzle”

The commission of inquiry, which has already heard from more than 150 witnesses, launched new summonses this week against relatives of the Republican billionaire, including his former White House spokesman Kayleigh McEnany or his advisor Stephen Miller.

Steve Bannon’s testimony is seen as essential because it is supposed to help understand what Donald Trump was doing before and during the assault.

“He is a piece of the puzzle,” said Adam Kinzinger, one of the two Republican elected members of this Democratic-majority commission.

“There are his comments the day before January 6” which seem to indicate “that he knew what was going to happen”, added the elected official. “We want to know what he knew”.

On January 5, Steve Bannon notably said on a podcast that “everything converges and it’s time to attack”.

Another close to Donald Trump, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, also snubbed a summons to appear before the commission of inquiry on Friday.

He invoked a court decision announced Thursday, which temporarily suspends until November 30 the transmission of internal documents from the White House to the parliamentary committee.

>> To read also: “Assault on the Capitol: elected officials in favor of prosecution against Steve Bannon”

The former president had invoked the right of the executive to keep certain information secret.

The documents in question include the files of former close advisers to Donald Trump as well as the daily newspaper of the White House – an account of his activities, trips, briefings and phone calls.

But for the commission of inquiry, President Joe Biden authorized the publication of the documents and Mr. Meadows is required to testify at the risk of being charged with obstructing the investigative prerogatives of Congress.

On January 6, thousands of Donald Trump supporters gathered in Washington as Congress certified Joe Biden’s victory.

The former real estate mogul had addressed the crowd, hammering, baselessly, that the election had been “stolen” from him. Several hundred demonstrators then launched an assault on the temple of American democracy, sowing chaos and violence even in the hemicycle.

He was acquitted in February after a trial in Congress for “incitement to insurrection”.

With Reuters and AFP