Steve Bannon has refused to comply with a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating January 6th, according to a letter obtained by Politico.
Bannon’s attorney, Robert Costello, wrote in a letter to House investigators that Bannon does not have to comply because of Trump’s right to keep information confidential through executive privilege.
“It is therefore clear to us that since the executive privileges belong to President Trump, and he has, through his counsel, announced his intention to assert those executive privileges enumerated above, we must accept his direction and honor his invocation of executive privilege,” Costello wrote to the House committee on Thursday, which was the deadline to respond to the subpoena.
The House committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, could seek criminal referrals for witness who fail to comply, according to The New York Times.
“Mr. Bannon has indicated that he will try to hide behind vague references to privileges of the former President. The Select Committee fully expects all of these witness to comply with our demands for both documents and deposition testimony,” Thompson and committee ranking member GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming said in a statement.
Thompson and Cheney added, “we will not allow any witness to defy a lawful subpoena or attempt to run out the clock, and we will swiftly consider advancing a criminal contempt of Congress referral.”
