Bannon doesn't want to go to trial

Steve Bannon – who defied a congressional subpoena and is set to go to trial on criminal contempt charges – told the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection on Saturday that he is now willing to testify, ideally at a public hearing, according to a letter obtained by CNN.

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Bannon was charged last year with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress. He has argued that he was free to ignore his congressional subpoena in order to protect Trump’s potential privilege claims. But federal prosecBannon was charged last year with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress. utors and other legal experts have argued that privilege does not apply to Bannon – who left his White House gig as chief strategist years before the Capitol riot – and did not give him the authority to refuse to provide any documents or testimony to the committee.

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Bannon’s reversal comes after he received a letter from former President Donald Trump waiving executive privilege, although both the House select committee and federal prosecutors contend that privilege claim never gave Bannon carte blanche to ignore a congressional subpoena in the first place.

“When you first received the Subpoena to testify and provide documents, I invoked Executive Privilege. However, I watched how unfairly you and others have been treated, having to spend vast amounts of money on legal fees, and all of the trauma you must be going through for the love of your Country, and out of respect for the Office of the President,” Trump wrote in a Saturday letter to Bannon, which was also obtained by CNN.

“Therefore, if you reach an agreement on a time and place for your testimony, I will waive Executive Privilege for you, which allows you to go in and testify truthfully and fairly” Trump added, as he went on to decry the committee of “Thugs and Hacks.”

  CNN

They want him to be televised. Surely the committee won't go for that.

Bannon, who has pleaded not guilty to his contempt charges, was set to go to trial July 18. Providing testimony would not necessarily absolve him of the criminal contempt charges he faces, so it’s unclear how his upcoming trial would be affected if Bannon strikes a deal with the committee to testify. He is set to appear in court for a hearing in his case Monday.

UPDATE:  Trump never claimed privilege in the first place.  It's all bullshit, all the time, with these assholes.