Capitol Riot: Ex-Trump Aide Steve Bannon to Testify Before 6 January Committee

Steve Bannon. 

(File photo)

Steven Bannon, a former strategist to Donald Trump, who also took part in the latter's efforts to invalidate the 2020 presidential election and spread fake news about it, is reportedly willing to testify in front of the House Committee inquiring the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack.

In a letter that has been accessed by CBS News, Bannon's lawyer "is willing to, indeed prefers, to testify at your public hearing."

It gives the committee a chance to dig deeper into the former president's plot. However, it is also being seen as a ploy by Trump, by which he plans to present counterarguments to the shocking testimonies that have come out so far.

Trump has reportedly said that Bannon's testimony would be "in the best interests" of Americans.

Additionally, it is pertinent to note that Bannon, who was accused of fraud, was pre-emptively pardoned by Trump.

Recap: Hutchinson's Damning Testimony

In the previous hearing, the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows towards the end of Donald Trump's presidential tenure, had shaken observers to the core.

Hutchinson had revealed that Trump knew that there would be mob violence at the US Capitol. "I don't [expletive] care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me," she heard Trump say when told about the armed mob marching to the capitol, according to her testimony.

Hutchinson even went on to say that Trump's own chief of staff had acknowledged the threat of violence leading up to the day, saying, "There's a lot going on, Cass, but I don’t know. Things might get real, real bad on January 6."

Click here to read a summary of the Hutchinson testimony that might have given a brand new momentum to the Select Committee investigating the former president's role in the 6 January violence.