Committee members see Bannon as a key figure because they believe his podcasts helped radicalize some of Trump’s supporters and have evidence showing Bannon spoke repeatedly with Trump and his advisers in the run-up to Jan. 6.
Bannon also stood out amid the clemency battle among lawmakers and Trump advisers working to overturn the election, as the only one to ultimately receive a pardon after Jan. 6. Although the reprieve was for a fraud case unrelated to Jan. 6, Bannon’s post-election support for Trump was a factor in the then-president’s last-minute decision to pardon Bannon, despite the objections of his top White House counsel and other advisers , according to a former senior administration official who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The prospect of Bannon’s testimony could turn out to be a trick. Bannon resisted the committee’s subpoena, citing Trump’s claim of executive privilege, even though Bannon was not in government at the time of the attack. Now that Bannon’s contempt of Congress trial is set to begin this month, Trump agreed Saturday to drop his privilege claims and encouraged Bannon to testify anyway.
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