Steve Bannon, former President Donald Trump’s one-time aide and advisor, has agreed to testify before the House select committee conducting investigations into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the country’s Capitol, CNN reported.
According to CNBC, Bannon was slated to begin trial proceedings next week after being indicted on two charges for Contempt of Congress. The charges came after Bannon declined to participate in Congress’ probe into the events that transpired on Jan. 6, 2021.
Bannon’s shift in his willingness to participate in the House select committee’s investigation comes after receiving a letter from Trump, who has waived executive privilege, per NBC News.
So what exactly is executive privilege? “The executive in question is the president and the privilege is his or her right to get honest advice in private and protect it from Congress and the courts,” CNN reported. “The idea is that presidents can shield their aides from having to share internal communications with Congress when it is conducting oversight, as the Constitution suggests it must.”
In Trump’s letter to Bannon, he explained his rationale behind the decision. “I will waive Executive Privilege for you, which allows for you to go in and testify truthfully and fairly, as per the request of the Unselect Committee of political Thugs and Hacks, who have allowed no Due Process, no Cross-Examination, and no real Republican members or witnesses to be present or interviewed. It is a partisan Kangaroo Court,” Trump wrote, according to NBC News.
On Sunday, Jan. 6 committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Ca., told CNN’s Jake Tapper, “I expect that we will be hearing from him.” Rep. Lofgren also stated that “there are many questions we have for him,” and that Bannon will likely be deposed behind closed doors due to the length of his deposition, per Forbes.