Trump ally Steve Bannon surrenders after his indictment on two counts of contempt of Congress

CNN

By Chandelis Duster, CNN

Steve Bannon, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, turned himself in to the FBI Monday morning after being indicted on criminal contempt charges for refusing to cooperate with the House committee investigating January 6.

Bannon was defiant when addressing TV cameras, saying, “We’re taking down the Biden regime.”

Bannon, 67, was charged last week with one count related to his refusal to appear for a deposition and another related to his refusal to produce documents to the House committee investigating January 6. Each count carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, the Department of Justice said.

He is expected to appear in court Monday afternoon. The case has been referred to District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by Trump.

In October, the House January 6 committee subpoenaed documents and testimony from Bannon but his attorney, Robert Costello, said he would not be cooperating with the investigation because he had been directed not to by Trump.

Costello also pointed to Trump’s claims that the documents sought were protected under executive privilege and told the committee that “the executive privileges belong to President Trump” and his invocation of executive privilege must be “honored.”

The White House counsel’s office has told Costello it won’t support Bannon’s refusals to testify. Biden’s White House has declined to assert executive privilege regarding documents and witnesses related to the riots at the US Capitol.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Jessica Schneider, Paula Reid and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.