Trump adviser Bannon indicted by federal grand jury

A federal grand jury in the US has indicted Steve Bannon, a prominent adviser to former President  Donald Trump, for defying a subpoena issued by a congressional committee investigating the January 6 assault on the Capitol.

US Justice Department spokesperson Bill Miller said on Friday Bannon is "expected to self-surrender" on Monday in Washington and appear in the court in the case that afternoon.

Bannon was charged with one count of contempt of Congress for failing to appear for an October 14 deposition before the panel and another for refusal to provide documents.

The 67-year-old now faces two charges of contempt of Congress which are punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $100,000.

“Since my first day in office, I have promised Justice Department employees that together we would show the American people by word and deed that the department adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts and the law and pursues equal justice under the law,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the indictment.

“Today’s charges reflect the department’s steadfast commitment to these principles.”

‘Clear message’

Democrat Bennie Thompson and Republican Liz Cheney, the leaders of the committee, said in a statement, "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.”

In late October, the House voted to disapprove Bannon after he refused to meet with the panel which had released a criminal contempt report against the GOP strategist earlier.

 Bannon’s attorneys tried to delay the report “so that we might thoughtfully assess the impact of this pending legislation.”

“We are here this afternoon to test a proposition as old as the country's founding. Are we a nation of laws? We are here because one man has decided that we are now only a nation of men, and that rich and powerful men need not follow the law. And the question we must confront is nothing less than this: Is he right?” Rep Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said ahead of the vote.

“Are some people now truly above the law, beholden to nothing and no one, free to ignore the law and without consequence?”

Trump had directed Bannon not to appear before the House panel saying he would challenge the committee’s moves as a violation of executive privilege.

Trump filed a federal lawsuit against the January 6 select committee in an attempt to block the panel from obtaining his administration's records from the US National Archives, something that has to be addressed first, Bannon argued, before he could comply with the committee’s subpoena.

White House rejects Trump’s claim of executive privilege

The White House has rejected Trump’s claims of executive privilege over documents requested by the congressional committee investigating the January 6 assault on the US Capito.

The Democratic White House on October 25 rejected Trump’s claims of executive privilege over documents requested by the congressional committee investigating the assault on the Capitol.

White House counsel Dana Remus directed the National Archives to turn over the Trump-era documents to the committee and wrote that Biden consulted with the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and decided that Trump’s privilege assertion “is not justified,” the Washington-based The Hill newspaper reported.

Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6 in the hope of preventing lawmakers from certifying Biden's victory, thus overturning the outcome of the 2020 presidential election but to no avail.

Trump, who believes that the election was rigged by the US establishment in favor of Biden, has said that the 2020 presidential election was “the greatest Election Hoax in history.”

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