I guess this is grandstanding for the base. For the moment let’s assume that. In law, or in common sense, the missive you’re about to read is ludicrous. But, on a comedy level it’s a beyond parody, vintage Trump effort, replete with initial caps, which Donald Trump seems to think is some classy literary style. I plead ignorance of knowing where this man ever learned to write a basic declarative sentence.
Let’s start with the conclusion first: a waiver is a voluntary relinquishment of a known right. You cannot relinquish a right you don’t have in the first place. That said, Trump just did. (And no, I don’t know if Trump’s stationery is pink.)
Donald Trump waives his Executive Privilege claim regarding Steve Bannon. pic.twitter.com/144GRdlWBf
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) July 10, 2022
Here’s the legal analysis from the Washington Post, although I’m going to tell you right now, this is first semester law school stuff.
The committee has argued that claims of executive privilege are not valid for Bannon, who was a private citizen at the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. The committee has also said that Bannon, an outspoken advocate of false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, was required to respond to the subpoena in some way — citing claims of privilege on a question-by-question basis instead of by refusing to respond.
“Even if your client had been a senior aide to the President during the time period covered by the contemplated testimony, which he was most assuredly not, he is not permitted by law to the type of immunity you suggest that Mr. Trump has requested he assert,” Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) wrote to Bannon’s attorney in October.
Bannon’s offer is not guaranteed to produce testimony before the committee, which may find the conditions his attorney hinted at, such as a public hearing, unacceptable. The hearings have yet to feature any live witnesses aligned with Trump, who has repeatedly demanded that the proceedings air his claims about voter fraud, which have been widely disproved. Bannon could also still assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, as other witnesses have done in closed-door testimony.
Committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) confirmed in an interview on CNN on Sunday that the committee had received the letter from Bannon’s lawyer but said it was unlikely that any deposition from Bannon would be public.
Whatever Trump’s motives for waiving a non existent right in order to give Bannon some kind of perceived free rein to speak, that’s not the interesting part, in my view. The interesting part of this, is what in the world are Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino going to do? They have also cited executive privilege defenses. Seems to me that Trump waiving it for Bannon is going to blow it out of the water for Meadows and Scavino. Very simply, if Trump is fine with one of his consiglieres testifying before the Committee, why not all of them?
Meadows and Scavino have not yet been cited for contempt of congress for refusing to respond to their subpoenas, but that may be a question of timing discretion on the part of the DOJ.
Meadows and Scavino were employed by the Trump administration at the time of the insurrection, but the fantasy of executive privilege in their case is going to be obviated by the fact that inciting the insurrection was a criminal act and Trump can’t claim any special privilege or immunity. At least, that’s my expectation of how that will be argued.
I think Meadows and Scavino have got to be groaning this morning reading this twaddle in pink, because that was their best “defense” the illusion of some kind of immunity and Trump just shot it all to hell.
This week is going to be interesting. One thing is certain: Mark Meadows is pretty much at the end of his tether. When Pat Cipollone’s testimony is revealed in a few days, that, in conjunction with Trump’s song and dance maneuver on waiver of executive privilege, is going to lead straight to Meadows’ doorstep and he’s going to be forced to be accountable. Sooner or later Mark Meadows is going to be forced to come clean and it looks like that day is coming up quickly.
I don’t think it matters one whit whether bannon as some sort of magical exec priv. I just don’t think he is going to provide the committee any useful info. He would make a good example for others should he thumb his nose at the committee: jail is a good place for him.
I think Bannon could provide a wealth of useful information. What he will provide is anybody’s guess. One pundit said he could “poison the well” and I’m not sure what that means. But if there’s a monkey wrench to be thrown, Bannon would be the guy to throw it, no question.
He lost all his executive privilege at noon on 1/20/2021. He lost a lot of privilege earlier, because there’s a crime-fraud exception when you’re talking to a lawyer.
And he’s got to know that. But he knows his base and this is grandstanding, plain and simple.
On Legal AF (a podcast hosted by Ben Meiseles of Meidas Touch fame), the lawyers surmised that this was some ploy cooked up by Bannon and his lawyer to get out of his upcoming trial. They don’t think the judge is going to buy it. No one is interested in playing Bannon’s game.
As to Meadows, as I’ve said before, his best bet is to be knocking on DOJ’s door and giving up everything if he wants to avoid jail. Surely, by now, he can read the writing on the wall and see where this is going. The J6 cmte has done an excellent job so far and the next hearing is supposed to be about WH and Proud Boy/Oath Keeper ties. This will not be helpful to Meadows.
IMO, as long as Giuliani continues to hold out for a better deal, Meadows will not fold. Meadows is a lesser, not-so bright predator who watches the others close enough to Formerly to be extremely vulnerable to prosecution very closely; if one or more of those higher the food chain than he is—Rudy, Don Jr. or as is more likely, Ivanka—cuts a deal, he’s gonna run to testify.
Bannon has only one agenda….to make the Jan 6 com have egg on their faces. The build up to his agreeing to appear…..”bombshell” new evidence, they say. He won’t say shit. It’s a bait and switch , con, grifter trick. There is no rabbit under his hat….maybe just a bottle of booze!
Well what I thought was special is the DOJ is supposedly proceeding with their efforts to charge el bannon for defying his subpoena saying that he had no reason not to at least respond to the committee. That doing this to congress is a felony or something to that effect.
I still think this is some kind of set-up whereby the Dumpf thinks he and B.O. Stevie can set up Meadows to be a scapegoat, when they all need to go down big time. It is probably a Bannon scheme because the Dumpf can’t think that clearly while ranting. Bannon should have been gagged when he was indicted to keep his hateful pod casts unavailable, but no. As for “executive privilege, the Dumpf really thinks he still has that right because he still thinks he actually still is president.