Former President Donald Trump is considering sending a letter to Stephen K. Bannon saying he is renouncing his claim for executive privilege, which could pave the way for his former chief strategist to testify before the select committee of the investigating House. the pro-Trump riots at the Capitol. .
The letter would reiterate that Trump invoked the privilege of the executive in September 2021, when Bannon was first cited by the House committee. But I would say the former president is now willing to waive that claim, the validity of which has been debated, if Bannon can reach an agreement on the terms of a court appearance. The letter was described by three people who knew her, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Some advisers were trying to convince Trump to sign the letter.
Bannon was charged with contempt of Congress in November 2021 for refusing to comply with the summons. A trial for these charges is scheduled to begin on July 18, although Bannon has tried to delay the proceedings.
The committee has argued that the claims of executive privilege are invalid for Bannon, who was a private citizen at the time of January 6, 2021. The committee has also said that Bannon, an open advocate of false claims that the election of 2020 were stolen. , had to respond to the citation in some way, citing question-by-question privilege claims instead of refusing to respond.
“Even if your client had been a senior aide to the president during the time period covered by the contemplated testimony, which he certainly wasn’t, the law doesn’t allow him the kind of immunity that Mr. Trump suggests to him. he has asked to affirm, ”President Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote to Bannon’s attorney in October.
The government has refused to file charges of contempt against other former Trump aides who have also cited the privilege of the executive, including former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former adviser Dan Scavino.
A Bannon lawyer and a Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
From the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Meadows senior aide, several Republicans have come forward to cooperate with the House select committee and are expected to continue to run more, according to people familiar with the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The live testimony and video recording presented in the anti-Trump committee case so far has drawn a detail image of the former president’s efforts to maintain power at all costs. These public hearings could now continue through August and beyond, as investigators accumulate more evidence and new eyewitness accounts added people familiar with the investigation.
On Friday, former White House attorney Pat Cipollone appeared during an eight-hour, closed-door interview transcribed with investigators to discuss his role in trying to avoid Trump’s attempts to revoke the 2020 election results .
Cipollone may have provided the committee with answers to crucial questions that could corroborate previous testimony or provide new evidence about what he may have witnessed in the White House before Jan. 6 and the day of the attack.
“Mr. Cipollone appeared voluntarily and answered a variety of questions, “said committee representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.).” in the next hearings. It was an exhausting day for everyone involved. … But it was worth it. ”
Lofgren described Cipollone as “accurate” and “French” in his testimony, adding that new information and “additional real-day insight” from January 6 were obtained.
Hutchinson’s testimony has been identified Cipollone as a key witness to possible criminal activities in Trump’s White House.
Hutchinson testified that on the morning of Jan. 6, Cipollone filed an urgent petition, saying “something to the effect of, ‘Please make sure we don’t go up to the Capitol, Cassidy. Keep in touch with me. We will be charged with every conceivable crime if we make this move happen. ”
He also stated that when violence erupted at the Capitol, Cipollone demanded that he and Meadows talk to Trump to intervene and try to stop the violence. When Meadows told Cipollone that Trump did not want to take any action, Cipollone responded that “something has to be done, or people will die, the blood will be in your hands,” according to Hutchinson’s account. interaction.
Stewart Rhodes, leader of far-right militia group Oath Keepers, made an offer to the House committee on Friday to appear before the committee, his lawyer Lee Bright confirmed.
The committee did not respond to the offer. Rhodes called for his testimony to be conducted under certain conditions: an open forum, recorded from a different location in the prison where he is currently detained and unedited. Bright said his client is willing to talk about Oath Keeper’s activities during the last election and January 6, 2021.
Isaac Arnsdorf and Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.
The January 6 insurrection
The select committee of the House investigating the January 6, 2021 uprising held a series of high-profile hearings in June. That of the committee The next public hearing is scheduled for July 12.
Hearings in Congress: The House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol has held a series of hearings to share its findings with the American public. The sixth hearing featured an explosive testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide.
Will there be charges? The committee could make criminal references to former President Donald Trump for his role in the attack, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) Said in an interview.
What do we know about what Trump did on January 6th: New details emerged when Hutchinson testified before the committee and shared what he saw and heard on Jan. 6.
The riot: On January 6, 2021, a pro-Trump mafia stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop certification of the results of the 2020 elections. Five people died that day or immediately thereafter, and 140 police officers were killed. attacked.
Inside the siege: During the riot, rioters came dangerously close to entering the building’s inner shrines while lawmakers were still there, including former Vice President Mike Pence. The Washington Post examined text messages, photos, and videos to create a video timeline of what happened on Jan. 6.