Executive Privilege

Former President Donald Trump made a series of faulty comparisons to other past presidents to argue that he was being held to a double standard regarding the FBI’s pursuit of his presidential documents.

Executive privilege is a power presidents have asserted to withhold information from Congress and the courts on the grounds that secrecy is essential to the performance of certain presidential duties. It particularly has covered communications between the president and his advisers, on the theory that the leader will receive the most candid advice should his conversations remain confidential.

Steve Bannon on Friday night didn’t seem fazed by his conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress — declaring in an interview, “If I go to jail, so be it.”

The former White House strategist offered up the nonchalant remarks in an appearance on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson just hours after he was found guilty on the contempt charges.

“If I go to jail, I go to jail,” the 68-year-old said.

“’I will never back off,” he continued. “I support Trump and the Constitution and I’m not backing off one inch. If I go to jail, so be it.”

Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon has been convicted for refusing to testify and provide documents to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

A federal court jury in Washington deliberated for less than three hours before finding Bannon guilty Friday afternoon on two counts of contempt of Congress, which the Justice Department brought last year after he defied a subpoena from the House panel. The committee sought his testimony related to his contacts with Donald Trump amid Trump’s effort to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.

Former White House adviser Steve Bannon lashed out on Friday at the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, hours after a jury found him guilty of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with the committee's investigation.

Driving the news: “I support Trump and the Constitution and if they want to put me in jail for that, so be it,” Bannon told Fox News host Tucker Carlson during Friday's episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight.

Legal experts quickly shed doubt on the value and credibility of right-wing strategist Steve Bannon agreeing to testify before the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack against the U.S. Capitol.

News first broke Sunday that Trump in a Saturday letter waved executive privilege he had claimed over Bannon's testimony. The former Trump administration official's attorney also sent a letter to the committee saying that his client is "willing to, and indeed prefers, to testify at your public hearing."

Steve Bannon — currently facing contempt of Congress charges after defying a subpoena to appear before the Jan. 6 committee — has signaled that he is willing to testify in front of the committee.

CNN reported Sunday that Bannon’s lawyer Bob Costello sent a letter to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection revealing the former Trump strategist’s plans.

Costello wrote in the letter. “Mr. Bannon is willing to, and indeed prefers, to testify at your public hearing.”

Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist for President Trump who is awaiting trial on charges of contempt of Congress, has agreed to cooperate with the January 6 committee.

Bannon wrote in an email to the panel, first obtained by the Guardian, that he was open to appearing for a public hearing after receiving a letter from Trump waiving his executive privilege. The email restated that Bannon had felt obligated to refuse the original congressional subpoena from the committee because Trump had claimed executive privilege over his testimony.

Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said in an email the day before the Jan. 6 riot at the US Capitol that the National Guard would ​be on the scene to “protect pro Trump people,” according to a report released late Sunday by the House select committee investigating the events of that day.

The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump was set to vote to recommend holding his final chief of staff in criminal contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena.

The Jan. 6 select committee, led by Chairman Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.), is expected to approve the contempt resolution against Mark Meadows to the full House, which is scheduled to vote Tuesday.