The federal grand jury looking into the attack on the Capitol on January 6 has subpoenaed Steve Bannon.
According to two persons with knowledge of the situation, NBC News reported that the subpoena for papers and testimony was issued in late May.
For the first seven months of Donald Trump’s presidency, Bannon, 69, served as the president’s chief strategist. He also co-founded Breitbart News. He currently runs a podcast and is one of the most well-known figures in MAGA circles.
Bannon was found to be in contempt of Congress in July 2022 after he refused to comply with a requirement to testify in front of a committee that was investigating the attack on the Capitol.
He has filed an appeal on that verdict, and he has not been sentenced at this time.
In a separate proceeding, Bannon is scheduled to stand trial on criminal charges related to an effort to fund Trump’s wall along the southern border of the United States on May 27, 2024.
Bannon was quite loud in his desire that President Trump reject the results of the election that took place in November 2020, and he demanded that patriots rise up to challenge the announcement.
On January 5, 2021, he shared with the viewers and listeners of his podcast that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”
According to the book Peril written by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, Steve Bannon advised Donald Trump in December of 2020 to concentrate all of his efforts on January 6.
The writers also stated that Trump contacted Bannon following a tense meeting he had on January 5 with the then-Vice President Mike Pence. During this discussion, Pence reportedly informed Trump that he did not have the ability to delay the certification of the results of the 2020 election.
Bannon was given a sentence of four months in prison in October after a jury convicted him of criminal contempt of Congress for disobeying a subpoena issued by a House committee investigating the incident in the Capitol. The subpoena had been issued by the committee investigating the violence. However, because Bannon is appealing his conviction, the judge has postponed the sentencing.
Trump has denied any misconduct on multiple occasions.
The former president argued that his interactions and communications with former White House employees while he was president are protected under executive privilege. However, his attempt to shield many of his former White House aides from subpoenas issued by the special counsel was unsuccessful. Earlier this year a judge dismissed most of those claims and ordered the parties in question to testify, CBS News reported.
Jack Smith, who was given the role of special counsel in November after being appointed to the position by Attorney General Merrick Garland, is currently conducting an investigation into the events that occurred on January 6.
Smith is also conducting an investigation into how Trump handled classified information.
It was disclosed on Monday that Mark Meadows, who had previously served as Trump’s chief of staff, had appeared in front of Smith’s team; however, it remained unclear whether he discussed the confidential materials, January 6, or both during his testimony.
