Steve Bannon, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, has been charged with “contempt of Congress” for his refusal to participate in the investigations into the assault on the Capitol on January 6, the US Department of Justice announced on Friday. Justice.
The 67-year-old former adviser is being prosecuted for refusing to testify and to forward documents to the House of Representatives special committee which is investigating the role of the former Republican president in the attack by his supporters on the headquarters of the Congress.
Despite his summons in mid-October, Steve Bannon did not appear before elected officials invoking the right of presidents to keep certain documents and discussions confidential.
But according to the commission, this protection does not apply because Trump is no longer president and has never officially asserted this privilege of the executive.
Steve Bannon was one of the architects of the Republican candidate’s successful presidential campaign in 2016 before falling from grace. He was in no official position on January 6 but appears to have discussed the protest with the president in the previous days, according to the commission of inquiry.
He faces between 30 days and a year in prison on each count and will be tried in federal court. But the legal battle could take months or years, potentially undermining the investigation.
Another close to Mr. Trump, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, also snubbed a subpoena on Friday to appear before the Democratic-majority commission of inquiry.
He invoked a court decision announced Thursday, which temporarily suspends until November 30 the transmission of internal documents from the White House to the commission.
The former president had invoked the right of the executive to keep certain information secret.
The commission of inquiry replied in a statement that US President Joe Biden had already authorized the release of the documents and that Mr Meadows was therefore under an obligation to testify, warning the former chief of staff of a possible indictment of contempt of Congress too.