The Washington Post came out with a bombshell report that left us scratching our heads and wondering what sort of sketchy scheme the former guy is up to now, as the publication reveals that former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, who’s been considered as a key witness by the January 6th House Select Committee for some time as they try to secure his under-oath testimony, may soon back down from his noncompliance and actually testify before the House Panel — all because former President Trump may soon be willing to waive “executive privilege” for Bannon.
Bannon, who was officially indicted on Contempt of Congress charges over his refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas issued against him by the House Select Committee, has long used the excuse of so-called “executive privilege” as his reasoning behind his refusal to cooperate with the Committee or comply with the subpoenas they have issued to compel his testimony in their investigation.
Bannon’s trial over the contempt charges is currently set for July 18th, pending a resolution of Bannon’s motion to delay the proceedings.
But now, in a move that smells especially fishy, it seems Donald Trump himself may soon open up the path to “allowing” Bannon to appear before the House Committee by signing a letter that would officially release Bannon of his so-called “executive privilege” restrictions.
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Isaac Stanley-Becker, Josh Dawsey, and Jacqueline Alemany report for the Post, “The letter would reiterate that Trump invoked executive privilege in September 2021, when Bannon was first subpoenaed by the House committee. But it would say that the former president is now willing to give up that claim — which has been disputed — if Bannon can reach an agreement on the terms of an appearance before the panel. The letter was described by three people familiar with it, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.”
“The committee has argued that claims of executive privilege are not valid for Bannon, who was a private citizen at the time of Jan. 6, 2021,” the report goes on to read. “The committee has also said that Bannon, an outspoken advocate of false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, was required to respond to the subpoena in some way — citing claims of privilege on a question-by-question basis instead of by refusing to respond.”
Criminal Contempt of Congress referrals have also been lodged against former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Trump adviser Dan Scavino by the House of Representatives, though the Justice Department has declined to bring up actual charges against those individuals at this time because both Meadows and Scavino did provide at least partial cooperation and information to the House Select Committee in semi-compliance with their subpoenas, while Bannon refused cooperation altogether.
The Post’s report on the matter doesn’t appear to give a reason as to why Donald Trump would suddenly even be considering such a move, so any thoughts or theories on a potential motive would be purely speculative. All I’m saying is, it’s sketchy.
Featured image via screen capture
