Former President Trump said he has waived the administrative right to have Steve Bannon testify before the Jan. 6 committee, according to a letter he sent Saturday to his former adviser.
What’s new: The Justice Department said Trump’s attorney Justin Clark told the FBI in a June 29 interview “that the former president has never invoked administrative law over any information or materials” related to Bannon, according to a motion. filed in DC court early Monday and obtained by the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell†
Why it matters: Last November, a federal grand jury indicted Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the Jan. 6 panel.
Send the news: In the letter, Trump told how he had invoked administrative law when Bannon first received his subpoena from the commission.
- However, he said he decided to reverse his stance after seeing how “unjustly” Bannon and others were treated, “because he had to spend huge amounts of money on legal fees, and all the trauma you have to go through out of love for your family.” .” Country.”
- If a time and place could be agreed for a testimony, Trump wrote that he would waive administrative law, “allowing you to go in and testify truthfully and honestly, according to the request of the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs and hack.”
In a letter to Representative Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chairs the Jan. 6 commission, wrote to a lawyer for Bannon that his client would be willing to testify and that he would prefer to do so in a public hearing.
- “Mr. Bannon has not changed his attitude or heart,” wrote Robert Costello, but noted that “circumstances have now changed,” referring to Trump’s decision to waive the administrative law.
What they say: The DOJ said in court Monday that Bannon’s “last-minute attempts to testify, nearly nine months after his failure — he has still made no attempt to produce records — are irrelevant to whether he intentionally refused to appear in court.” October 2021 to comply with the Select Summons Committee.”
- Any evidence or argument “relating to his 11-hour efforts must therefore be ruled out at trial,” the motion added.
Situation: Damned testimonials from the Jan. 6 commission have drawn millions of viewers, trying to highlight the direct links between Trump and the Jan 6 violence.
- Representatives for Trump and Bannon did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include: details of the DOJ’s court filing.
