Trump ex-aide to testify in Jan 6 riot probe

WASHINGTON－Steve Bannon, a one-time close adviser to former US president Donald Trump, has agreed to testify in the Capitol riot hearings, days before he was to face trial for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating the attack on Congress, US media reported Sunday.

"Mr. Bannon is willing to, and indeed prefers, to testify at your public hearing," his lawyer Robert Costello wrote in a letter to the House Select Committee on Saturday, which was initially reported by The Guardian and cited by US media.

Bannon was among dozens of people called to testify on last year's assault on the Capitol aimed at shutting down Congress over former president Donald Trump's claims that due to voter fraud Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

Investigators believe Bannon and other Trump advisers could have information on links between the White House and the mob that stormed the Capitol on the day it was due to certify Biden as winner.

According to the letter explaining his about-face, Bannon told the House Select Committee that "circumstances have now changed".

In November last year, Bannon turned himself in to the FBI to face charges of contempt of Congress after refusing to testify on the Jan 6 Capitol assault.

"I'm never going to back down," he told reporters at the time after appearing before a judge to hear the charges.

"We're going on the offense on this. And stand by," he said, repeating the phrase Trump used during the election in 2020 to encourage supporters of a militia group.

The House panel is due to hold public hearings on Tuesday and Thursday this week.

The committee's Thursday evening hearing will examine the three-hour-plus stretch when Trump failed to act as a mob of supporters stormed the Capitol. It will be the first hearing in prime time since the June 9 debut that was viewed by 20 million people, The Associated Press reported.

A hearing on Tuesday will focus on the plotting and planning of the insurrection by white nationalist groups such as the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, and will also highlight testimony taken on Friday from former White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

NBC News reported that Jason Van Tatenhove, a former spokesperson for the Oath Keepers, would testify on Tuesday.

It comes after testimony last month from former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson provided the most compelling evidence yet that Trump could be linked to a federal crime. Since then, the committee has seen an influx of new information and confidential tips.

Agencies Via Xinhua