Steve Bannon indicted for refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena © Reuters / Kevin Lamarque
Steve Bannon, longtime adviser to former President Donald Trump, has surrendered himself to authorities to face contempt charges following his refusal to comply with a congressional investigation into the January 6 Capitol riot.
Speaking to reporters on his way to the courthouse on Monday, Bannon urged his followers to remain focused on the "signal" rather than the "noise" which he said was obscuring the important events surrounding his arrest.
Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury on Friday, having been held in contempt by Congress for ignoring a subpoena in October.
He is facing two contempt charges for allegedly refusing to cooperate with the congressional committee tasked with investigating the Capitol riot of January 6. He is expected to appear in court on Monday afternoon to answer to the charges.
One of the charges relates to his refusal to appear for a congressional deposition, while the other is related to his refusal to provide documents to the House committee.
Bannon had earlier argued he did not need to honor the subpoena as he was protected by "executive privilege" from Trumps time in office. Contempt of Congress carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and up to one year in jail.
As he surrendered on Monday, he told those outside the court that he was live-streaming events on conservative social media platform GETTR.
Bannon briefly served as White House chief strategist and senior counselor to Trump between January and August 2017.
While Bannon has not served in any official capacity under Trump since then, the Select Committee has claimed that he has "information relevant to understanding events related to January 6th."
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/23893
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