Don't Play Bannon's Game (The Bulwark)

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.thebulwark.com/dont-play-bannons-game/

Steve Bannon, the Trump ally and pardonee, has reportedly told the House January 6th Committee that after months of stonewalling he is now willing to testify. This change in Bannon’s position is linked to a July 9 letter from former President Trump telling Bannon that “if you reach an agreement on a time and place for your testimony, I will waive Executive Privilege for you, which allows for you to go in and testify” before the committee.

According to some observers, one way to look at this development is that Bannon, facing an imminent trial on criminal charges of defying a congressional subpoena, has been scared straight and has finally agreed to testify in order to avoid going to the pokey. Or that Trump and Bannon both want somebody, in this case Bannon, to have a megaphone to get Trump’s side of the story out to the public.

In other words, some people actually take this stuff seriously.

They shouldn’t. Bannon likely has no intention of testifying. He’s almost certainly playing a much more strategic game, the goal of which is to avoid both jail and testifying.

Here’s how it works.

Bannon has been claiming all along that his refusal to testify is based on executive privilege, and that he was acting in good faith without criminal intent. Proof of his good faith, he will contend, is both that he relied on the advice of counsel and that he’s willing to testify now that Trump has offered to waive executive privilege.

*snip*

[empedocles]

1. Good, long, analysis of bannon's banal potential maneuvers

[Mr.Bill]

2. You can't waive something you don't have. n/t