Donald Trump’s former top adviser Steve Bannon told the congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol that he is ready to testify, a change of heart just days before he is to stand trial for contempt of Congress. In a letter to the committee seen by Reuters, Bannon’s lawyer, Robert Costello, wrote that the former president would waive the executive privilege claim Bannon had invoked by refusing to appear before the committee. Bannon, a prominent figure in right-wing media circles who served as Trump’s chief strategist in 2017, is scheduled to go on trial July 18 on two counts of contempt for refusing to testify or provide documents. The lawyer’s letter said Bannon preferred to testify publicly, but Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Comm., told CNN that the committee usually gives testimony behind closed doors. “This goes on for hours and hours. We want to get all our questions answered. And you can’t do that live,” Lofgren said. “There are a lot of questions we have about him.” In all of the House committee hearings, taped excerpts of closed-door testimony from sworn witnesses have been shown to the public. Trump disputes that none of his supporters have testified in his defense at the committee hearings, which, in addition to the trial, have focused on an attack by Trump supporters seeking to stop congressional certification of Trump’s defeat of Joe Biden in November 2020. election. In a letter from Trump to Bannon seen by Reuters, Trump said he was waiving executive privilege because he “watched how unfairly you and others were treated.” The House panel is set to hold public hearings on Tuesday and Thursday this week. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Howard Goller)
