Trump Never Invoked Executive Privilege Over Steve Bannon Subpoena: DoJ

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has said that Donald Trump never invoked executive privilege with regards to Steve Bannon and the former White House adviser's apparent willingness to testify to the January 6 committee is merely a "last-ditch attempt" to avoid accountability.

Bannon, who is charged with contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena issued by the panel investigating the insurrection, is reported to now be prepared to testify at a public hearing after the former president said he would waive executive privilege.

In a July 9 letter to Bannon and his lawyer, Robert Costello, Trump said he would waive the privilege as he had "watched how unfairly you and others have been treated" by the "Unselect Committee of political Thugs and Hacks."

Costello added in a letter to Representative Bennie Thompson, the chair of the January 6 panel, that his client has "not had a change of posture or of heart" but claimed that "circumstances have now changed" since Trump announced he would waive the privilege.

However, in a motion filed on Monday, the Department of Justice said that Trump's attorney Justin Clark told the FBI in a June 29 interview that the former president "never invoked executive privilege over any particular information or materials" related to Bannon.

The DoJ said the claim that Bannon is now only willing to testify because Trump waived executive privilege is disputed because that line of defense for not complying with the subpoena "never provided a basis for total noncompliance in the first place."

Prosecutors added that Bannon's "eleventh-hour efforts" to appear willing to testify to the January 6 committee does nothing to "begin to cure his failure to produce records" related to his subpoena issued in September 2021.

"All of the above-described circumstances suggest the Defendant's sudden wish to testify is not a genuine effort to meet his obligations but a last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability," the motion adds.

Bannon argued that executive privilege—which keeps communications between the president and executive branch secret—could be extended to private citizens, as he was at the time of the 2020 presidential election and the January 6 attack.

Prosecutors have previously accused Bannon and his legal team of launching a series of "frivolous" legal complaints in an attempt to delay his case heading to court.

In late June, Bannon filed a legal complaint in an attempt to get the DoJ to hand over records explaining why former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and ex-Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino escaped prosecution for not fully complying with their congressional subpoenas, despite facing trial for similar offenses.

Bannon was in frequent communication with Trump prior to the Capitol riot and was said to have spoken with the former president on December 30, 2020, urging him to "focus his efforts" on January 6, according to the panel.

He was part of a group of Trump's inner circle who met at the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. on January 5 to allegedly plan how to convince members of Congress not to certify the election for Joe Biden.

Bannon is also quoted as saying "all hell is going to break loose tomorrow" the day before the insurrection.

Trump and Bannon's lawyers have been contacted for comment.