Trump’s Chief Strategist Bannon ready to testify before Jan 6 Committee

By Ashok Nilakantan

New York, July 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) Ahead of the crucial July 12 deposition by Pat A Cipollone, Donald Trump's White House Counsel, the capital hills riots case is taking dramatic twists and turns with Trump's Chief Strategist', Media Executive and Banker, Steve Bannon saying he's ready to testify before the Senate Committee if the former President waives his executive privilege.

Strangely, former President Trump, facing flak before the committee for his alleged involvement in inciting the mob to attack Capitol Hill on January 6 and trying to overturn the 2020 verdict with falsification of accounts of stolen ballot boxes, says he is ready to waive Bannon's executive privilege if he is willing to testify.

The nation is keenly watching if Cipollone is willing to corroborate the explosive statements made by former top White House aide in Trump's administration Cassidy Hutchinson that Trump was ready to lead the mob, tried to take the wheel and ring the neck of his security detail on January 6 chaotic day.

Is Bannon's testimony part of a well-crafted strategy by Trump to confuse the senate committee as it prepares to hear Cipollones statement. Or is Bannon willing to tell all or as Trump had earlier stated that there must be someone from our side to tell our story when one of the senate committee members pulled out all the three Republicans sitting on the committee. Or is Bannon trying to save him before his July 18 trial.

According to the CNN TV news network, Bannon, who defied a Congressional subpoena and is set to go to trial on criminal contempt charges -- told the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection on Saturday that he is now willing to testify, ideally at a public hearing.

Bannon's reversal in stand follows the letter he received from the former President waving executive privilege, although both the House Select Committee and Federal prosecutors contend that privilege claim never gave Bannon carte blanche to ignore a Congressional subpoena in the first place.

Bannon has sent a letter to the committee saying he is now willing to testify to.

"When you first received the subpoena to testify and provide documents, I invoked Executive Privilege. However, I watched how unfairly you and others have been treated, having to spend vast amounts of money on legal fees, and all of the trauma you must be going through for the love of your country, and out of respect for the Office of the President," Trump wrote in a Saturday letter to Bannon, according to a copy obtained by CNN.

Bannon and DOJ don't want to talk politics or January 6 specifics at contempt trial

"Therefore, if you reach an agreement on a time and place for your testimony, I will waive Executive Privilege for you, which allows you to go in and testify truthfully and fairly" Trump said, as he went on to decry the committee of "Thugs and Hacks."

The letters were first reported by The Guardian of UK.

Bannon, who was charged last year with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, has argued that he was free to ignore his congressional subpoena in order to protect Trump's potential privilege claims. But federal prosecutors and other legal experts have argued that privilege does not apply to Bannon -- who left his White House gig as chief strategist years before the Capitol riot -- and did not give him the authority to refuse to provide any documents or testimony to the committee.

"While Mr. Bannon has been steadfast in his convictions, circumstances have now changed," Costello, Bannon's lawyer said in a letter to the committee. He wrote, "Mr. Bannon is willing to, and indeed prefers, to testify at your public hearing."

Rep Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, a member of the committee, told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" on Sunday that the committee hasn't yet had a chance to discuss Bannon's letter, but that "I expect that we will be hearing from him and there are many questions that we have for him."

Lofgren, however, said that public testimony from Bannon was unlikely, noting that the committee typically does depositions. "This goes on for hour after hour after hour. We want to get all our questions answered, and you can't do that in a live format," she said.

The January 6 committee was interested in speaking to Bannon about his communications with Trump in December 2020, when Bannon reportedly urged him to focus on the January 6 certification of the presidential election results. Committee members were also interested in Bannon's comments in the run-up to the Capitol insurrection, including a podcast on January 5, in which he predicted, "All hell is going to break loose tomorrow," CNN reported.

Bannon, who has pleaded not guilty to his contempt charges, is set to go to trial July 18. Though providing testimony at this stage would not necessarily absolve him of the criminal contempt charges he faces, it's unclear how his upcoming trial would be affected if Bannon strikes a deal with the committee to testify. He is set to appear in court for a hearing in his case Monday.

Source: IANS