Broadcaster Steve Bannon fired back after House Select Committee Chairman Benny Thompson alleged former President Donald Trump attempted a coup.
Bannon responded strongly to Rep. Thompson’s remarks during the episode of his Real America Voice show, “War Room,” that aired Friday.
“Ultimately, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, spurred a mob of domestic enemies to march down the Capitol and subvert American democracy,” Thompson declared Thursday. The Democrat added his belief that January 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup by the former president.
“Trump won the presidency,” exclaimed Bannon during the show, “and he is the legitimate President of the United States, and your guy is illegitimate and the American people are awakening to that.”
The former advisor to the 45th president expressed disdain for Thompson’s statement. Bannon dared Attorney General Merrick Garland to use the material presented during the committee hearing to try to indict Trump.
“We. Dare. You!” declared Bannon.
“We’re winning in November and we’re going to impeach you and everbody around you,” he added. “Screw the White House! We’re going to impeach you and everyone at [the Department of Justice].”
A former Republican who switched to become a Democrat posted a video excerpt from Bannon’s show to his Twitter account Saturday.
Former Trump administration members such as former Attorney General Bill Barr and Ivanka Trump have publicly rebuked allegations that Trump was inciting the riot because they said he believed the election was rigged.
Bannon is in a long-running legal battle with the committee that subpoenaed him September 23, 2021, asking him to appear before them to testify and to provide requested documents. Bannon refused, claiming the former president’s claim of executive privilege applied to him as a former White House advisor.
“We will comply with the directions of the courts, when and if they rule on these claims of both executive and attorney-client privileges,” Bannon attorney Robert Costello wrote in a letter to the committee. “Since these privileges belong to President Trump, and not to Mr. Bannon, until these issues are resolved, Mr. Bannon is legally unable to comply with your subpoena.”
The former Trump advisor was held in contempt of Congress after an October 2021 vote passed 229-202.
The Department of Justice indicted him for two charges of contempt on November 12, 2021. Each charge carries a maximum one-year prison sentence and up to $100,000 in fines.
Bannon is still throwing counterpunches in his fight with Congress. He asked the court to subpoena House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and every member of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
His trial is scheduled to begin next month and will seek to invalidate the committee that issued the subpoenas because he claims Pelosi ignored congressional rules about creating committees. A resolution that created the bipartisan committee states it “shall” have 13 members, according to a Bloomberg News report. The panel has only nine, and the seven Democrats and two Republicans on the committee were all selected by Pelosi.
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