Bombshell Revelation: Trump Didn't Invoke Executive Privilege For Steve Bannon

Steve Bannon said that he had been covered by executive privilege when he refused to testify before the Jan. 6 committee. But former President Donald Trump’s lawyer has blown a huge hole in the former Trump strategist's claims.

Since last October, Bannon has refused to comply with a subpoena from the panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 pro-Trump riot, prompting the criminal charges against him, reported Daily Beast. But on Sunday, his attorney Bob Costello announced that Bannon would be appearing after getting a letter from the former president promising to waive executive privilege so he could set the record straight.

Prosecutors announced on Monday that Trump’s lawyer, Justin Clark, had been interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on June 29. He had confirmed that the former President had never invoked executive privilege to stop Bannon from testifying before the Jan. 6 committee. Costello had referred to a letter from Clark to back up his claim of executive privilege.

But Clark not only confirmed that privilege was never invoked, but said that Costello had “misrepresented” what Clark had told him, according to a court motion, written by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Vaughn. He had made it clear to Bannon's lawyer that it provided no basis for noncompliance with the subpoena.

Bannon was provided with an FBI report on the interview on June 30, Vaughn noted. Vaughn wrote that the defendant’s timing suggests that the only thing that has really changed since he refused to comply with the subpoena in October 2021 is that "he is finally about to face the consequences of his decision to default."

Bannon’s trial is scheduled to begin on July 18. Prosecutors want the court to exclude in advance “any evidence or argument” related to his last-minute claim that he was now ready to testify.

In a letter, Bannon's lawyer told the Jan. 6 committee that he "is willing to, indeed prefers, to testify at your public hearing, reported BBC.

The panel has conducted a nearly year-long investigation into how supporters of Trump invaded Congress on Jan. 6 last year. They had planned to disrupt lawmakers as they certified Joe Biden's 2020 Presidential election victory.