Source: CCTV news client
Stephen Bannon, chief strategist of the White House during the Trump administration in the United States, was recently indicted for contempt of Congress, and on the 15th local time, he surrendered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and appeared for the first time in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia.
According to the Associated Press, the case did not enter the defense phase on the same day, and a federal district court judge in the District of Columbia released Bannon without asking for bail, but required him to hand over his passport and report to the court every week. The next hearing is scheduled for the 18th of this month.
"They caught the wrong person," Bannon told reporters after his court appearance, "and we're going to start shooting." ”
He pointed the finger at U.S. President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying Biden ordered Garland to file charges against him.
Bannon was indicted on the 12th for contempt of Congress. The indictment says Bannon "refused to appear as required by the summons to testify." According to the Justice Department, Bannon was implicated in two crimes: refusing to testify in connection with the Capitol Hill riots investigation and refusing to provide documents in accordance with the summons. The corresponding penalty for each offence is 30 days to 1 year imprisonment and a fine.
On Jan. 6, supporters of then-President Donald Trump demonstrated outside the Capitol, and hundreds of people stormed the building, forcing the joint session of the House and Senate to certify Democrat Biden as president-elect. A Capitol police officer and four demonstrators died in the violence.
The House Special Committee investigating the Capitol Hill riots issued its first subpoena on September 23, asking Bannon and four other senior Trump administration officials to explain in writing their contacts and contacts with Trump on the day of the riots and the days before, and to testify at a closed-door hearing in mid-October. Bannon did not contact the Special Committee after receiving the summons, and did not reply to the letter from counsel until 7 October.
Bannon's lawyers informed the committee on Oct. 14 that Trump believed the materials the commission had requested and the witnesses summoned were protected by the president's administrative prerogatives, and that Bannon had refused to cooperate with the investigation at Trump's direction. The House of Representatives voted Oct. 21 to support a resolution in favor of Bannon's contempt of Congress, recommending that the Justice Department prosecute Bannon on the charges.
At present, the legal process surrounding the investigation of the Capitol Hill riots over whether Trump can exercise executive privileges is still ongoing.
Bannon lawyer David Schelln stressed again on the 15th that Bannon did not accept questioning according to Trump's instructions on the protection of administrative privileges. Schön also questioned the Justice Department's treatment of Bannon's misdemeanor charges as felony cases.
Media commentary said that it is extremely rare for U.S. government officials to be indicted for contempt of Congress. Prosecuting Bannon could help the House Special Committee obtain testimony and related documents from other Trump cronies.
Mark Meadows, another key witness in the Capitol Hill riots investigation, former White House chief of staff, also recently ignored special committee subpoenas and refused to testify. If the House votes to accuse Meadows of contempt of Congress, he could face the same Justice Department indictment.