Stoltenberg says Jan. 6 siege was attack on ‘core values of NATO’

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attack on NATO’s values.

“I regard that as an attack on the core democratic institutions of the United States and therefore also on core values of NATO,” Stoltenberg said of his reaction to the attack at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an interview on “Axios on HBO.”

During the interview, which was recorded last Monday at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, the leader of the world’s biggest military alliance added that he still believed in the future of America’s democracy.

“I’m confident that our biggest ally … will remain a strong democracy,” he said, noting that the country “has been through difficult times, crises, before and always come out on the other end with a strong commitment to democratic institutions.”

Steve Bannon, a one-time adviser to former President Trump, was indicted on Friday for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating Jan. 6. He now faces two charges of contempt of Congress.

 Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that Bannon’s indictment last week should encourage others to cooperate with the committee. 

“And now that witnesses see that if they don’t cooperate, if they don’t fulfill their lawful duty when subpoenaed, that they, too, may be prosecuted, it will have a very strong, focusing effect on their decision making,” Schiff said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” adding that he saw it as “an early test of whether our democracy was recovering.”

“If our law is to mean anything, it has to be applied equally. And so, I’m very glad the Justice Department has moved forward in this fashion,” Schiff said.