Steve Bannon Refuses to Testify to Jan. 6 Committee, Cites 'Executive Privilege'

Steve Bannon's lawyers have written a letter to the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol stating he will not produce documents for subpoenas, citing Donald Trump's claim of executive privilege.

The defense team for Bannon, one of a number of the former president's allies who have been subpoenaed by the panel in connection with the insurrection, has denied that Bannon's position is "in defiance" of the subpoena but rather following Trump's directions not to respond.

Bannon was instructed to appear at depositions on Thursday after being subpoenaed in September along with former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Defense Department official Kashyap Patel and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino.

On October 8, the House select committee confirmed that while Meadows and Patel were co-operating with the committee, Bannon indicated that he would "try to hide behind vague references to privileges" of the former president.

In a letter to the committee chairman Representative Bennie Thompson, obtained by ABC News, Bannon's counsel Robert Costello wrote: "Bannon's position is not in defiance of your Committee's subpoena.

"Rather, Mr Bannon noted that President Trump's counsel stated that they were invoking executive and other privileges and therefore directed us not to produce documents or give testimony that might reveal information President Trump's counsel seeks to legally protect."