Developing: Trump's pet, Steve Bannon, surrenders to authorities

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After being indicted for contempt of Congress following his flat refusal to comply with a Jan. 6 Committee subpoena, Steve Bannon surrendered himself to the FBI on Monday and now faces criminal charges for his defiance.

Bannon, a longtime stalwart of former President Donald Trump, was formally charged last week with two counts of contempt of Congress and later Monday afternoon, he will appear before Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for his arraignment.

Bannon’s subpoena demanded that the former, short-lived strategist to Trump turn over any records in his possession central to the planning and financing of the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington on Jan. 6. The subpoena requested documents connected to Bannon’s presence inside of Trump’s “war room” at the Willard Hotel on Jan. 5; his correspondence with other key Trump associates like John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Michael Flynn; and his communications with extremist groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, among others.

As Bannon flouted the subpoena, he insisted executive privilege shielded him from scrutiny. But, as legislators pointed out in a report issued before the House of Representatives voted to hold him in contempt, Bannon had no “conceivable assertion” to executive privilege since he was a private citizen during his interactions with Trump, the records of which are currently sought by the committee.

In remarks addressing listeners to his podcast and being livestreamed to the right-wing social media platform Gettr just before he surrendered in Washington, Bannon proclaimed: “Everybody watching in the War Room, we’re here today. I don’t want anybody to take their eye off the ball today. We got the Hispanics coming on our side, African Americans coming on our side, we’re taking down the Biden regime … I want you guys to stay focused, stay on message. Remember, signal, not noise. This is all noise, that’s signal.”

The contempt charges against Bannon are misdemeanor charges and are punishable by up to one year in jail. They also come with a maximum fine of $100,000.

Bannon is being represented in court proceedings Monday by David Schoen, one of several attorneys who represented Trump during his second impeachment trial before Congress. In addition to Schoen, Bannon has also tapped Evan Corcoran, a former U.S. assistant attorney presently representing U.S. Capitol Police Officer Michael Riley, who was indicted last month on two felony charges.

Riley allegedly sent messages on Facebook warning a person who was inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 to take down social media posts, photos, and video that could incriminate himself.

This story is developing.