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Former White House strategist Steve Bannon arrives at the federal court in Washington, Friday, July 22, 2022. Bannon was brought to trial on a pair of federal charges for criminal contempt of Congress after refusing to cooperate with the House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. [AP Photo | Jose Luis Magana]

Steve Bannon found guilty on both contempt of Congress charges

By: Carrie Johnson | NPR
Posted on: Friday, July 22, 2022

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Updated July 22, 2022 at 2:56 PM ET

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPR) — A federal jury has convicted former Trump political adviser Steve Bannon of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for intentionally defying a subpoena related to the assault on the U.S. Capitol last year.

Bannon put on no defense in the case, which featured testimony from just two government witnesses, including the deputy staff director of the House Select Committee investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

The Justice Department told jurors the case was black and white – as simple as the words on the subpoena to Bannon last autumn.

“The defendant chose allegiance to Donald Trump over compliance with the law,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Gaston said in closing arguments.

Bannon had broadcast his defiance on the social media site Gettr, prosecutors said, posting that he told lawmakers he would “NOT comply” on Oct. 8, 2021, after the first committee deadline had passed.

The chief government witness, Kristin Amerling of the Jan. 6 committee, told jurors the panel wanted to know more about Bannon’s contacts with former President Trump, his presence with others at the Willard Hotel in early 2021, and his statement on the War Room podcast that “all hell is going to break loose” a day before the Capitol siege.

A video of former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon is displayed on a screen during a hearing by the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6th attack on the US Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC, on July 21, 2022. [Photo by Saul Loep | AFP via Getty Images]

Bannon’s lawyers said he made a mistake with subpoena dates, alleged political bias

The one-time White House chief strategist has become a force in Republican politics, thanks to his right-wing media stardom and his relationship with Trump.

Bannon provided no documents to the Democrat-led committee and failed to show up for a deposition last year, claiming he was barred from appearing because Trump had asserted executive privilege.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols cast doubt on the privilege claim and Trump’s own lawyer suggested that it would not cover Bannon’s wholesale refusal to cooperate with the House Select Committee.

Defense attorney Evan Corcoran argued Bannon had made a mistake with the subpoena dates, which he called “placeholders.” Corcoran also asserted that government witness Amerling had donated to Democratic political candidates and had been part of the same book club as prosecutor Gaston.

“The thing about bias is that sometimes people become blind to it,” Corcoran told jurors.

Prosecutors said the effort to inject politics in the case amounted to a smokescreen to confuse the jury.

“The only person who is making this case about politics is the defendant and he is doing it to distract and confuse you,” Gaston said. “Don’t let him.”

Bannon had sought to delay the case, making a nearly last-minute offer on the eve of trial to testify before Congress in a public hearing. The Justice Department described that offer as a ploy, “and not even a good one,” prosecutors said, because it did not address the panel’s demand for documents.

Criminal contempt prosecutions are rare, but so is a decision by a witness to fully reject congressional demands. Bannon faces the prospect of jail time and monetary fines when he is sentenced October 21.

Another key Trump aide, Peter Navarro, is scheduled to go to trial in November on contempt charges. Navarro has pleaded not guilty.