A former advisor to Donald Trump is facing charges for failing to answer questions regarding the violent January 6th Capitol riot.
On Friday, Steve Bannon was indicted on one count of refusing to appear for a deposition and one count of declining to produce documents requested by the House committee. Bannon is expected to turn himself in to authorities on Monday. He faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
His indictment is the first of its kind, with no one with executive privileges ever being prosecuted for contempt of Congress. Bannon’s case is also unique because he left his White House position in 2017.
Committee chair Bennie Thompson and ranking member Rep. Liz Cheney are pleased with the indictment. They believe that it will send the message to former Trump officials that they will not stop seeking answers regarding the January 6th insurrection.
“Steve Bannon’s indictment should send a clear message to anyone who thinks they can ignore the Select Committee or try to stonewall our investigation: no one is above the law,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.
The House committee has subpoenaed 16 former Trump White House staffers for testimony, documents, or both regarding the riot as they work to determine what roles they may have played in the chaos.
Bannon has not commented publicly on the matter.
