Steve Bannon

"While Mr. Bannon has been steadfast in his convictions, circumstances have now changed," Costello wrote in the letter obtained by CBS News. Bannon's lawyer ...

While Trump claimed he invoked executive privilege, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected Bannon's argument that as a former White House official, he did not have an obligation to comply with the select committee's subpoena when executive privilege has been asserted. The trial stems from Bannon's refusal to comply with the committee's subpoena for his records and testimony, which was first issued in late September. The House then held him in criminal contempt of Congress for defying the demand, and he was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress in November. Bannon pleaded not guilty to both charges. "While Mr. Bannon has been steadfast in his convictions, circumstances have now changed," Costello wrote in the letter obtained by CBS News. Bannon's lawyer said that while former President Donald Trump invoked executive privilege over his testimony and documents, the former president "has decided that it would be in the best interests of the American people to waive executive privilege for" Bannon, allowing him to comply with the select committee's subpoena.

Prosecutors said Bannon's wish to testify is "not a genuine effort to meet his obligations but a last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability."

"All of the above-described circumstances suggest the Defendant's sudden wish to testify is not a genuine effort to meet his obligations but a last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability," the motion adds. Prosecutors added that Bannon's "eleventh-hour efforts" to appear willing to testify to the January 6 committee does nothing to "begin to cure his failure to produce records" related to his subpoena issued in September 2021. However, in a motion filed on Monday, the Department of Justice said that Trump's attorney Justin Clark told the FBI in a June 29 interview that the former president "never invoked executive privilege over any particular information or materials" related to Bannon.

Former President Donald Trump never invoked executive privilege to prevent Steve Bannon from testifying before the House select committee investigating last ...

“The Defendant’s purported desire to testify now does not erase his past contempt.” The revelation comes two days after Bannon’s lawyer claimed Trump had “waived” the claim of executive privilege, allowing Bannon to appear before the panel. In a court filing ahead of Bannon’s trial on two counts of contempt of Congress, US Attorney Amanda Vaughn revealed that Trump attorney Justin Clark told the FBI in a June 29 interview that “the former president never invoked executive privilege over any particular information or materials” in regard to Bannon.

The Justice Department says a Trump lawyer told the FBI that the former president never actually invoked executive privilege.

Bannon, citing a letter over the weekend from former President Donald Trump, said through a lawyer that he would be willing to testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. "Any evidence or argument relating to his eleventh-hour efforts should, therefore, be excluded at trial." But the Justice Department said in a new filing that Trump attorney Justin Clark confirmed in an FBI interview that Trump "never invoked executive privilege over any particular information or materials; that the former President’s counsel never asked or was asked to attend the Defendant’s deposition before the Select Committee; that the Defendant’s attorney misrepresented to the Committee what the former President’s counsel had told the Defendant’s attorney; and that the former President’s counsel made clear to the Defendant’s attorney that the letter provided no basis for total noncompliance."

Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump campaign manager and White House adviser, made the abrupt about-face after the former president authorized him to talk ...

Investigators have also pointed to a conversation Mr. Bannon had with Mr. Trump on Dec. 30, 2020, in which he urged him to focus his efforts on Jan. 6, the day that Congress was to make the official count of electoral votes to confirm Mr. Biden’s victory. But the committee has repeatedly said that it needs to hear from Mr. Bannon and receive the documents it requested from him about plans to overturn the 2020 election. For months, Mr. Bannon has been perhaps the most bombastic and strident potential witness the committee has called to testify. Should Mr. Bannon ultimately appear for an interview, he would give his testimony behind closed doors like hundreds of other witnesses have done, Ms. Lofgren said. Mr. Bannon’s trial on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress is set for July 18. And there are many questions that we have for him.” It remains to be seen how Mr. Bannon’s new posture will affect the criminal proceeding, and how forthcoming he will be. His decision is a remarkable about-face for Mr. Bannon, who until Saturday had been among the most obstinate and defiant of the committee’s potential witnesses. Here are the main themes that have emerged so far: The committee and the Justice Department have long maintained that Mr. Trump has no valid claim of executive privilege over Mr. Bannon’s testimony, in part because Mr. Bannon left the White House in 2017 and was a private citizen when he was involved in Mr. Trump’s efforts to hold on to power after the 2020 election. Mr. Costello said that Mr. Bannon’s decision to comply with the committee’s subpoena came after he was cleared to testify by Mr. Trump. He provided the panel with a letter that Mr. Trump sent to Mr. Bannon on Saturday that waived any claim to executive privilege over his testimony or producing documents comply with the subpoena. But with the possibility of two years in jail and large fines looming on the horizon, Mr. Bannon has been authorized to testify by Mr. Trump, his lawyer told the committee late on Saturday in a letter, which was reported earlier by The Guardian.

The Department of Justice revealed in a Monday court filing the FBI has interviewed former President Donald Trump's lawyer Justin Clark, who told federal ...

“All of the above-described circumstances suggest the Defendant’s sudden wish to testify is not a genuine effort to meet his obligations but a last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability.” The House of Representatives voted to hold Bannon in contempt in October, and he was indicted on criminal contempt of Congress charges following his failure to appear for a deposition and hand over documents to the committee. Bannon, 68, was subpoenaed by the committee in September over his alleged connection to the Capitol riot by backing Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud and meeting with other Trump allies in the week leading up to the attack.

Steve Bannon, former President Donald Trump's political strategist, asked a judge Monday to delay his contempt trial after offering to testify.

Bannon had threatened to turn the case into the "misdemeanor from hell" for the Justice Department and congressional Democrats. “His actions are little more than an attempt to change the optics of his contempt on the eve of trial, not an actual effort at compliance,” prosecutors said in court documents. A breakdown of those 187 minutes. "If you reach an agreement on a time and place for your testimony, I will waive executive privilege for you, which will allow for you to in and testify truthfully and fairly as per the request of the Unselect Committee of political Thugs and Hacks,” Trump wrote in the letter. On Sunday, Rep. Jaime Raskin, D-Md., a member of the House investigating committee, said Bannon was likely motivated by recent damning testimony detailing the president’s conduct on Jan. 6, 2021 and in the days prior to the insurrection. Bannon, who was in contact with former President Donald Trump in the days leading up to the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, refused to comply with a subpoena issued last fall, claiming executive privilege from Trump. Both the committee and full House voted to hold him in contempt of Congress. He lost a lawsuit to block the committee from access to his administration’s documents from the National Archives. Costello referred to a separate letter from Trump in which the former president waived the privilege claim. "Mr. Bannon was obligated to honor the President’s invocation (of executive privilege), unless and until, either your Committee reached a constitutionally required accommodation with President Trump as to the invocation of executive privilege or your Committee obtained a ruling from the Federal District Court that the invocation of executive privilege was improper or did not apply to the particular question or document sought," attorney Robert Costello wrote. Bannon is set to stand trial July 18 on two counts of contempt involving his refusal to appear for a deposition and another involving his refusal to produce documents, despite a subpoena from the House committee. WASHINGTON – Former White House strategist Steve Bannon’s new willingness to testify before a special House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack was described by federal prosecutors Monday as a stunt by the former Trump aide a week before his trial on criminal contempt for defying a committee subpoena. Bannon defied the Jan. 6 committee's subpoena for documents and testimony, saying he would make the criminal contempt case the "misdemeanor from hell."

The Justice Department says a Trump lawyer told the FBI that the former president never actually invoked executive privilege.

Bannon, citing a letter over the weekend from former President Donald Trump, said through a lawyer that he would be willing to testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. "Any evidence or argument relating to his eleventh-hour efforts should, therefore, be excluded at trial." But the Justice Department said in a new filing that Trump attorney Justin Clark confirmed in an FBI interview that Trump "never invoked executive privilege over any particular information or materials; that the former president's counsel never asked or was asked to attend the defendant's deposition before the select committee; that the defendant's attorney misrepresented to the committee what the former president's counsel had told the defendant's attorney; and that the former president's counsel made clear to the defendant's attorney that the letter provided no basis for total noncompliance."

A judge said Monday that he would not delay the contempt of Congress trial of Steve Bannon, just one week before it is set to begin.

Nichols cited the fact that the entire House had validated the House select committee. The government had only to illustrate that Bannon's decision was deliberate and intentional, and not by accident. Judge Carl Nichols issued a series of rulings on motions preparing for the trial Monday that largely did not go Bannon’s way, including knocking out several potential defenses he had raised. Bannon was indicted in November 2021. "I intend to police this line tightly," Nichols said. The Justice Department maintains that Bannon's offer to testify was nothing more than a “last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability.”