Steve Bannon, a former campaign aide and chief White House strategist to Donald Trump, has been found guilty in his contempt of Congress trial.
The conviction was handed down Friday, with a jury taking less than three hours to return the verdict. Bannon was found guilty of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress. This is a major win for the House January 6th select committee that has been committed to investigating Trump’s involvement in the Capitol ambush.
Bannon’s fate comes after the House committee issued a subpoena to him in September 2021. The committee was seeking information regarding his knowledge of right-wing extremist groups planning the Capitol attacks and any communication he had with Trump ahead of the riots. However, Bannon ignored the subpoena. Prosecutors argued in court that Bannon believed he was “above the law.” The committee had previously warned Bannon he could be charged if he failed to comply.
At the time of the subpoena, Bannon said he could not testify due to executive privilege concerns raised by Trump. Kristin Amerling, a witness called by the prosecution, stated that Trump never sent notice to the committee confirming this. Days before the trial began, Bannon told the committee he would be willing to testify after learning that Trump reversed the executive privilege claims. However, he did not testify at trial, and his attorney’s called no witnesses.
Bannon will be sentenced on October 21st. He is facing up to one year in prison but is prepared to appeal the decision.
