Steve Bannon Agrees to Testify Before Jan. 6 Committee

Steve Bannon told the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that he is now willing to testify.

Bannon, the former White House chief strategist during the Trump administration, wrote in an email to the panel that former President Donald Trump waived him of his executive privilege to withhold confidential information. A federal grand jury indicted Bannon last November on two counts of contempt of Congress after failing to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee. If convicted, he could face significant fines and up to two years in jail. Bannon said he preferred to testify at a public hearing, but he will likely be requested to participate in a private hearing to determine if he's willing to comply with the requests laid out in last year's subpoena. Bannon was reportedly in close contact with Trump, and on the day before the events of Jan. 6, he revealed that "all hell is going to break loose tomorrow" at the Capitol.

Outlets across the spectrum highlighted how Bannon's decision is a "remarkable about-face" considering how he's been "the most obstinate and defiant" of the committee's potential witnesses. Some left-and center-rated outlets highlighted legal experts who "quickly shed doubt" on Bannon's decision, labeling it a "gimmick" and a "ploy." Conversely, right-rated outlets emphasized the sentiment that Trump’s executive privilege declaration "didn’t apply" to Bannon because he was fired by Trump in 2017, thus not being an official employee of the White House leading up to Jan. 6.