UPDATE 11/15/2021 @ 11:48AM ET:
BANNON SURRENDERS TO FEDS AFTER BEING INDICTED FOR CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS
VIEW VIDEO OF BANNON ARRIVING TO FEDERAL BUILDING: https://url.americanpatriotsforum.com/MVU1Z1
Steve Bannon, the notorious former chief strategist to President Donald Trump, gave himself over to federal authorities on Monday. The surrender came days after a federal grand jury indicted him for ignoring a subpoena from the House committee probing the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
According to the Department of Justice, the former White House advisor will make his first appearance before a federal judge on charges of contempt of Congress later Monday. The court proceeding comes after weeks of Bannon refusing to either give testimony or supply demanded documents. Representatives for Bannon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Like other Trump aides who have flouted the House committee’s subpoenas, Bannon and his legal team have maintained his communications with the ex-president enjoy executive privilege—despite Trump no longer holding the presidency and Bannon having not served in the executive branch since 2017.
The indictment on Friday noted that Bannon told Congress in response to the subpoena that the direction to disregard came from the former commander-in-chief.
Addressing his own “War Room” podcast crew as he approached the Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Office in Washington, D.C., Bannon framed his federal charges as little more than a distraction from what he claimed was a growing multiracial coalition against the Democrats in power.
“I don’t want anybody take their eye off the ball of what we do every day. We got Hispanics coming on our side, African Americans coming on our side, we’re taking down the Biden regime,” he asserted, teasing the episode of his show that he vowed would air later in the day. “I want you guys to stay focused, stay on message. Remember, signal, not noise. This is all noise, that’s signal.”
Bannon is just the most prominent of a handful of erstwhile Trump aides who have resisted subpoenas from the committee. Ex-White House chief-of-staff Mark Meadows was AWOL from a hearing last week, while one-time Defense Department staffer Kash Patel failed to appear for testimony in October. Trump’s old deputy chief-of-staff Dan Scavino has also indicated he will refuse to comply with orders to testify to the committee.
At issue is the Trump team’s involvement in planning the D.C. rallies that precipitated the deadly MAGA attack on the Capitol earlier this year. Bannon aggressively hyped the upcoming events on his podcast in the days before pro-Trump activists converged on the nation’s capital, and reportedly met with a few of the then-president’s legal advisors. The Daily Beast also uncovered evidence linking Bannon associates to a wave of text messages promoting the “Stop the Steal” gatherings.
The vanquished former president took a melodramatic view of the action against Bannon on Friday.
“This Country has perhaps never done to anyone what they have done to Steve Bannon and they are looking to do it to others, also,” he wrote in a statement. “If they would be so tough with China, Russia, and the world, who no longer respects us, maybe our Country would not be failing at a level at which we have never seen before.”
Trump already pardoned Bannon once, as he exited office, shielding his on-and-off strategist from charges that he embezzled funds from a nonprofit dedicated to financing a wall on the country’s southern border.
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PRESIDENT TRUMP'S RESPONSE STEVE BANNON INDICTMENT:
President Trump has responded to the indictment of former advisor Steve Bannon on contempt of Congress charges.
In an email to supporters the President was furious with the indictment of Bannon, the first person in decades to actually be indicted on contempt of Congress charges.
“This Country has perhaps never done to anyone what they have done to Steve Bannon and they are looking to do it to others, also. If they would be so tough with China, Russia, and the world, who no longer respects us, maybe our Country would not be failing at a level at which we have never seen before. We never talk about making our Country great, and it is now heading in an unthinkable direction with the Afghanistan withdrawal, open Borders, Inflation, Woke everything, and so much more. The USA is a radicalized mess!” President Trump said in an email.
“Why aren’t they investigating the people and states who cheated on the election causing the protest of January 6th? Why aren’t they investigating the people who ruthlessly and violently burned down and took over Democrat-run cities, beating and murdering people along the way? Instead they are viciously investigating those who protested the November 3rd Presidential Election, the Crime of the Century. No investigations on Election Fraud, but if anybody was near the Capitol waving an American flag, they’ve had nothing but trouble. American Patriots are not going to allow this subversion of justice to continue, including the use of prosecutors, local, state, and federal, to torment and destroy innocent people. All this, while our Country is going to hell!” President Trump said in another email.
Bannon has yet to respond to the indictment against him, but on Friday he took to his own show to warn Democrats that Republicans are taking over elections nationwide.
He spoke directly about Trump’s claims of impropriety in the 2020 presidential election, saying “We’re not complaining about it anymore.”
“Remember, there are no whining and no tears in the War Room. We’re taking action, and that action is, we’re taking over school boards, we’re taking over the Republican Party through the precinct committee strategy, we’re taking over all the elections,” the host said.
He noted the victory of Glenn Youngkin who won the Nov. 2nd gubernatorial race in Virginia evn after the state voted for Joe Biden in the presidential election in 2020.
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A federal grand jury indicted former Trump advisor Steve Bannon on Friday on charges of contempt of Congress that stemmed from his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House January 6 Committee investigating the deadly Capitol riot.
Bannon, 67, faces two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to provide documents to the congressional investigators and refusing to sit for a deposition, the Department of Justice said in a press release.
“Today’s charges reflect the Department’s steadfast commitment to these principles,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the statement.
A lawyer for Bannon told the House select committee in October that he would not comply with its subpoena because former President Donald Trump had instructed him not to produce any documents or testimony “concerning privileged material.”
PRESS RELEASE:
Stephen K. Bannon Indicted for Contempt of Congress
Two Charges Filed for Failing to Honor House Subpoena From Select Committee Investigating Jan. 6 Capitol Breach.
WASHINGTON – Stephen K. Bannon was indicted today by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress stemming from his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 breach of the United States Capitol.
Bannon, 67, is charged with one contempt count involving his refusal to appear for a deposition and another involving his refusal to produce documents, despite a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. An arraignment date has not yet been set in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“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,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today’s charges reflect the Department’s steadfast commitment to these principles.”
“As detailed in the indictment, on Sept. 23, 2021, the Select Committee issued a subpoena to Mr. Bannon,” said Matthew M. Graves, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. “The subpoena required him to appear and produce documents to the Select Committee, and to appear for a deposition before the Select Committee. According to the indictment, Mr. Bannon refused to appear to give testimony as required by subpoena and refused to produce documents in compliance with a subpoena.”
In its subpoena, the Select Committee said it had reason to believe that Bannon had information relevant to understanding events related to Jan. 6. Bannon, formerly a Chief Strategist and Counselor to the President, has been a private citizen since departing the White House in 2017.
Each count of contempt of Congress carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, as well as a fine of $100 to $1,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
VIEW INDICTMENT: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-relea ... 1/download