Lofgren says Steve Bannon likely to be deposed by Jan. 6 committee

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, said on Sunday that former Trump White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon will likely testify before the panel.

During Lofgren’s appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, host Jake Tapper asked her whether Bannon will testify before the committee.

“We have wanted him to testify,” she said, citing a letter from Bannon’s lawyer the committee received around midnight.

"I expect that we will be hearing from him."

January 6 committee member @RepZoeLofgren confirms to @jaketapper that former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is willing to testify, according to a letter from his lawyer. @CNNSotu #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/85BKnb80ra

— CNN (@CNN) July 10, 2022

She noted that while the committee has not had a chance to discuss it, she expects “we will be hearing from him,” adding that “there are many questions that we have for him.”

When asked whether the hearing will be public or closed, she said it would be difficult to show in a live format.

“Ordinarily, we do depositions,” she replied. “This goes on for hour after hour after hour. We want to get all our questions answered, and you can’t do that in a live format.”

Lofgren’s confirmation follows reports that Trump was considering waiving his claim of executive privilege to allow Bannon to testify before the House committee.

The House Democrat on Sunday also discussed the panel’s meeting with former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone on Friday, noting that the committee will provide excerpts from his testimony.

“He was able to provide information on basically all of the critical issues that we’re looking at, including the president’s, what I would call, dereliction of duty on the day of Jan. 6,” Lofgren said.