US Congressman Kinzinger says Bannon indictment may send 'chilling message'

US Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger has said that the indictment of former US President Donald Trump’s adviser Steve Bannon for failing to comply with a congressional committee investigating the January 6 assault on the Capitol may send a “chilling message."  

A federal grand jury on Friday charged Bannon 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.

US Justice Department spokesperson Bill Miller said on Friday Bannon is "expected to self-surrender" on Monday in Washington.

Kinzinger and Republican Liz Cheney are two Republicans who sit on the January 6 panel. He said in an interview on Friday evening that the indictment shows that those who are asked to speak to the panel in future “cannot ignore Congress.” 

“The reality is, you may not like it--- you may not like the investigation. You may think nothing wrong was done, but you're not going to be able to avoid it,” Kinzinger said.

“So, this is certainly a good thing and I hope it sends a chilling message to anybody else who was going to follow through like this,” he continued.

Earlier, Democrat Bennie Thompson and Republican 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.”

Trump adviser Bannon indicted by federal grand jury

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

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.

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.

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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