Prominent conservative media figure, Steve Bannon, was found guilty on July 22 on two charges of contempt for ignoring deadlines accompanying a subpoena from House Democrats’ Jan. 6 committee. According to a report from Bloomberg, Bannon is the first person to be prosecuted on such a charge “in decades.”
Steve Bannon (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Bannon, who figured prominently in former President Donald Trump’s successful 2016 White House campaign, was present in the Washington, DC, courthouse for the verdict.
The Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed Bannon in the fall of 2021, compelling him to turn over documents and evidence supposedly pertaining to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, on Capitol Hill. The Trump loyalist refused to comply with deadlines that his attorney argued were “ambiguous.” Judge Carl J. Nichols, appointed by Trump, had earlier put a hold on a motion to acquit from Bannon’s defense team, saying he would rule on that motion once the verdict was in.
During the trial, an FBI agent called as a witness for the prosecution, stated that Bannon’s former attorney, Robert Costello, said his client cited executive privilege as his reason for not complying with the subpoena. Just before the trial began, Bannon offered to testify before the Jan. 6 committee, producing a letter from Trump saying the 45th president was waiving executive privilege so that Bannon could speak with the committee.
Mr. Bannon will be sentenced on Oct. 21. Each of the charges carries a maximum of one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
