Steve Bannon surrenders to face contempt charges

Trump ally Steve Bannon has surrendered to authorities to face contempt of Congress charges after refusing to give evidence about the Capitol riot.

Mr Bannon defied a summons to testify on what he knew about plans for the protest that ended with Trump supporters storming Congress.

On Friday, the justice department formally charged Mr Bannon, a former Trump White House strategist.

He now faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 (£74,429) fine.

Mr Bannon, 67, surrendered to officials at the FBI’s Washington DC field office on Monday morning.

Speaking to supporters as he entered the building, Mr Bannon said: “We’re taking down the Biden regime every day.”

Supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the US Congress building on 6 January as lawmakers inside were meeting to certify the results of the 2020 election.

Mr Trump, a Republican, has refused to acknowledge losing the election to Democratic President Joe Biden last year, making claims – without evidence – of mass voter fraud.

In a statement last week, the justice department said that Mr Bannon was indicted on one count of refusing to appear for a deposition and one count for refusing to provide documents following a subpoena from a committee investigating the riot.

Mr Bannon – who was fired from the White House in 2017 but has remained loyal to Mr Trump – is expected to appear in court later on Monday.

Last week, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that Mr Bannon’s indictment reflected the justice department’s “steadfast commitment” to the rule of law.

According to subpoena documents, Mr Bannon – who currently hosts the right-wing War Room podcast – said on the eve of the riot that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow”.

His lawyers have argued that his communications involving the former president are protected.

The US Court of Appeals in Washington is scheduled to hold a hearing at the end of this month to rule on Mr Trump’s claim of executive privilege, after it was rejected by a lower court.

Mr Bannon’s is the first such indictment to come out of the House of Representatives Select Committee’s inquiry of the 6 January invasion of the Capitol complex.

Mr Trump has urged former aides to reject deposition requests, arguing that they are covered by executive privilege – a legal principle that protects many White House communications.

Another Trump official, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, may also face possible consequences for defying a similar subpoena to appear before the committee.

Mr Meadows’s lawyer said last week that he has a “sharp legal dispute” with the committee because of Mr Trump’s claims of executive privilege.

In a statement, committee chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said that Mr Meadow’s decision “to defy the law” may force the committee to pursue contempt proceedings like those applied to Mr Bannon.

The House Select Committee issued dozens of subpoenas last week, calling on many former Trump officials to hand over documents and testify about the riot.

They include Kayleigh McEnany, the ex-White House press secretary, Stephen Miller, who was Mr Trump’s senior adviser, and Michael Flynn, former national security adviser.

On Sunday, Mr Trump defended his former aide, saying that “this country has perhaps never done to anyone what they have done to Steve Bannon”.