Trump to write letter to release Steve Bannon from executive privilege, may allow him to testify to J6 committee

The January 6 Committee has subpoenaed War Room host Steve Bannon to testify before them, and with a letter that may be forthcoming from former President Donald Trump, the target of the Committee's efforts, they may get their wish.

The letter from Trump to Bannon, which is being considered by Trump, would relieve Bannon of his claim for executive privilege in communications between himself and the president. That Bannon is facing a trial over his refusal to comply with the subpoena, citing executive privilege, has been called "banana republic behavior."

Bannon faces a criminal trial over alleged obstruction of the Committee due to his refusal to comply with the subpoena issued in September 2021 for him to appear. That trial is slated to begin in DC in mid July.

When Bannon was first subpoenaed by the Committee, Trump invoked executive privilege, as Bannon was a chief strategist. Now Trump is willing to give up that claim, according to the Washington Post, if Bannon and the Committee can agree to terms. By November 2021, Bannon was charged with contempt of Congress for not complying with the subpoena, and he surrendered to the FBI.

Because Bannon was not working with the Trump administration at the time of the Capital riot on January 6, the Committee has claimed that Trump's invocation of executive privilege was invalid.

Executive privilege is a power that can be asserted by presidents to stop the other branches of government to gain access to executive confidential communication between the president and his closest advisors.

President Joe Biden has not upheld Trump's claim of executive privilege, instead saying that the National Archives should release the information requested by the Committee. He said that it was necessary to have a "full accounting" of the "unprecedented effort to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power" to "ensure nothing similar ever happens again."

Bannon was swatted on Friday while he was on air after police received a report of shots fired at his residence. Streets were shut down for about an hour. Officers reported later that there was no indication of a shooting.

"It was learned that there was no incident inside, there was no shooting that occurred," Assistant Police Chief Carroll said. "So at this time, there is no threat, there is no immediate danger anywhere in the area."