Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist in the White House, refused to appear in person for a pre-trial hearing in Washington, DC, on Monday, in his case of contempt in Congress. His legal team suffered a series of defeats during the hearing, losing almost all of the arguments.
DC District Judge Carl Nichols ruled that Bannon’s trial will not be delayed, despite Bannon’s claims of possible jury biases due to ongoing hearings by the Jan. 6 select chamber committee. His trial is set to begin next week, on July 18.
Bannon had argued that, as a former White House official, he had no obligation to comply with the citation of the select committee when the president has claimed the privilege of the executive. The panel cited him in September 2021 over reports that he had urged former President Trump to focus on Jan. 6 and tried to persuade members of Congress to vote against certifying the 2020 presidential election. .
Nichols also ruled that Bannon cannot make a number of defenses in his opinion, including a “public authority” argument that President Donald Trump ordered for his failure to comply with the committee. The judge cited Trump’s status as a private citizen and the lack of evidence that Trump had ever made such an order.
Bannon’s argument that the House violated its own rules in its January 6 select committee operation was also rejected by Nichols, who said he would defer to the House his own interpretation of its rules. Nichols became the last of a series of judges to dismiss claims that the committee was not authorized or legally composed.
Prosecutors will also only have to show Bannon’s deliberate intent to challenge the Jan. 6 committee’s summons, according to Nichols’ order. They will not have to show “bad intent.” Bannon may not present evidence that he “relied on the advice of a lawyer” or privilege, according to the judge. Previously, he tried to argue that he was listening to the advice of his lawyers and did not know that he was committing a crime by not appearing before the committee or by providing material in response to the subpoena.
However, Bannon can still argue that he was “unaware” of the citation deadline.
Nichols did not immediately rule on the relevance or admissibility of Bannon’s new offer to testify before the House court. But the Justice Department questioned Bannon’s new willingness to testify before the select committee, and described his change of face over co-operation with the panel as an “attempt to change the perspective” days before it begins. his trial on charges of criminal contempt in Congress.
On Thursday, the next pre-trial hearing in the Bannon case will address this issue.
After the hearing, Bannon’s attorney, David Schoen, said he did not know if Bannon would testify before the Jan. 6 committee, but he did reiterate that Bannon “said he is willing to comply if they only resolve the problem of privileges, “and noted that” now, the privilege has been relinquished, it has been withdrawn. “
Cristina Corujo contributed to this report.
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