The noose is tightening around Donald Trump.

Steve Bannon, a close ally of the former president of the United States, has been charged with "obstructing" the investigative prerogatives of Congress, the US Department of Justice announced on Friday.

The 67-year-old former adviser is being sued for refusing to testify and submit documents to the House of Representatives special committee investigating Donald Trump's role in his supporters' attack on Capitol Hill on January 6 .

This indictment "should send a clear message to all those who think they can ignore the commission or try to obstruct our investigation: no one is above the law," responded Bennie Thompson, Democratic chairman of the commission. investigation.

Bannon's pivotal role in the 2016 campaign

Despite his summons in mid-October, Steve Bannon did not appear before elected officials invoking the right of presidents to keep certain documents and discussions confidential. But according to the commission, this protection does not apply because Donald Trump is no longer president and has never officially asserted this privilege of the executive.

Steve Bannon, a discreet but very influential adviser, had played a crucial role in the election of Donald Trump by giving a decidedly populist turn to the Republican campaign in 2016, before being pushed to the exit the following year.

He did not hold any official function on January 6 but appears to have discussed the protest with the president in the previous days, according to the commission of inquiry.

He was notably part of the "crisis cell" led by advisers to the former tenant of the White House from a luxury hotel in Washington before and after the assault on the seat of Congress.

Bannon: "a piece of the puzzle"

The former counselor faces between 30 days and one year in prison on each count and will be tried in federal court. But the legal battle could take months or years, potentially undermining the investigation. A victory for the Republicans in the parliamentary midterm elections in November 2022 would also mark the end of the investigation.

Steve Bannon's testimony is seen as essential because it is supposed to help understand what Donald Trump was doing before and during the assault.

"He is a piece of the puzzle," said Adam Kinzinger, one of the two Republican elected members of this Democratic-majority commission.

"There are his comments the day before January 6" which seem to indicate "that he knew what was going to happen", added the elected.

On January 5, Steve Bannon notably said on a podcast that “everything converges and it's time to attack”.

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