Steve Bannon appears to have run out of options in his effort to resist testifying before a House committee examining the 1/6 insurrection against the federal government.
The former Donald Trump senior adviser had been hiding under a phony executive privilege claim. Trump pulled it away, even though he couldn’t have used executive privilege anyway as a ploy to keep Bannon from talking to the committee.
So, what does Bannon do? Rather than face prison time in a trial that is about to commence, Bannon has told the committee he is willing to talk to the panel about what he saw and heard on the day of the traitorous attack on our nation’s Capitol Building.
If I were a betting man, I would wager that Bannon’s agreeing to testify signifies very bad news for Donald Trump, who reportedly had hoped that his No. 1 attack dog would stand tall for the ex-POTUS.
Apparently … not!
The bottom line, though, appears to be this point: a legally constituted congressional committee is well within its authority to order people to testify before it. Bannon at first refused. Congress issued a contempt citation against Bannon, who then was preparing to go to trial in just a matter of days.
Congress had the goods on Bannon, who then stands a serious chance of being convicted and spending some time in prison.
It’s been a fascinating evolution to watch. A man who seemed to lead with his chin by declaring all hell would break loose on the eve of the insurrection has now become an apparently willing witness who well might drive yet another spike into the proverbial heart of POTUS 45.
The dude knew the insurrection would occur. He needs to answer for what he knew, when he knew it and what — if anything — he did to stop it.
There appears to be no way out for this one-time White House hotshot.