Mr. Bannon is willing to, and indeed prefers, to testify at your public hearing. — Robert J. Costello, Mr. Bannon’s attorney

Should Mr. Bannon ultimately appear for an interview, he would give his testimony behind closed doors like hundreds of other witnesses have done. — Rep. Lofgren 

You may lead a horse to water, but …

So, Steve Bannon may give testimony to the Jan. 6th committee after resisting for months. I’m not impressed.

• Bannon reportedly agreed to testify after given permission by the former president, promoting a false claim of executive privilege.
• His lawyer specifically mentioned a public hearing; the Committee certainly won’t agree to that condition.
• Reportedly, Bannon hasn’t supplied any of the required documents yet.
• Bannon may refuse to answer questions or claim a faulty memory as others have done.

Bannon’s concession is clearly based on his scheduled July 18th trial on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress. Each count carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine. If he appears, I expect he will be a hostile witness.