Steve Bannon found guilty of contempt of Congress for ignoring January 6 hearing subpoenaFormer Trump White House official Steve Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress after he ignored a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee.
Bannon faces 30 days to a year in prison for each of the two misdemeanor charges. The jury was ordered to begin deliberating Friday morning.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols discharged the jury after hearing closing arguments from both the prosecution and defense.
The Department of Justice charged Bannon with two counts of contempt of Congress after he ignored a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee. Bannon pleaded not guilty.
Bannon claimed executive privilege precluded him from appearing before the committee to talk about the Jan. 6, 2020, attack on the U.S. Capitol, though prosecutors noted that he left the White House in 2017.
Former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon speaks with the media during the opening day of his trial on contempt of Congress charges stemming from his refusal to cooperate with the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, at U.S. District Court in Washington, July 21, 2022.
Former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon speaks with the media during the opening day of his trial on contempt of Congress charges stemming from his refusal to cooperate with the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, at U.S. District Court in Washington, July 21, 2022. (Reuters/Michael A. McCoy/File Photo)
The Justice Department began closing arguments Friday morning with prosecutor Molly Gaston telling jurors, "This is a man who didn’t show up."
"He didn’t want to recognize Congress’ authority or play by the government’s rules," Gaston said. "Our government only works if people show up and play by the rules and are held accountable when they do not."
"When he chose to defy a congressional subpoena, that was a crime," Gaston continued. "The defendant chose allegiance to Donald Trump over compliance with the law."
Former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon speaks with the media at the end of the opening day of his trial on contempt of Congress charges stemming from his refusal to cooperate with the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, at U.S. District Court in Washington, July 21, 2022. ............
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