Daily US Times: A US House of Representatives committee investigating the Capitol riot has unanimously supported holding Steve Bannon, a one-time top aide of ex-President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress.

Mr Bannon was summoned to testify before the committee, but refused to do so.

If the full chamber approves the matter this Thursday, it will then be referred to justice department, which has the final say on bringing charges.

If convicted, the former Trump aid could face a fine and up to one year in prison.

Mr Bannon has not publicly commented on Tuesday’s vote in the nine-member House select committee.

All seven Democrats and two Republicans on the panel backed holding him in contempt.

In her opening remarks, congresswoman Liz Cheney, said Mr Bannon had had “substantial advance knowledge of the plans” for the protest on 6 January and of Mr Trump’s plans to discredit the presidential election result.

Mr Bannon, a former right-wing media executive who became Mr Trump’s chief strategist, was fired from the White House in 2017, and was not in government at the time of the riot.

Former President Donald Trump has urged former aides to reject the House committee’s requests. He claimed that the right to withhold information because of executive privilege – a legal principle that protects many White House communications.

On Monday, Mr Trump filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to block the House inquiry from obtaining records from the US National Archives.

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