WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon “refused to follow the rules” in defying a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee and should be held accountable, a prosecutor said during opening arguments in his contempt of Congress trial.
“This case is about the defendant thumbing his nose at the orderly processes of our government,” Justice Department prosecutor Amanda Vaughn told a jury in a Washington courtroom Tuesday. “Ours is a nation of laws and our system doesn’t work when people think they are above them.”
Bannon, 68, the longtime adviser to former President Donald Trump, is on trial for two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress for defying requests to hand over documents and testify to the congressional committee investigating the US Capitol riot. If convicted, the charges each carry a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of as much as $100,000.
Arguments began in the Washington courtroom Tuesday afternoon only after a morning spent wrangling between the defense attorneys and the judge about what evidence could be admitted. Bannon’s attorneys renewed efforts to delay the trial, only to have the judge once again deny that request.
The dispute came after US District Judge Carl J. Nichols initially said he would allow the government to introduce as evidence redacted letters from committee Chairman Bennie Thompson to Bannon’s former attorney, Robert Costello, regarding the subpoena. The defense had originally moved to strike them unless Thompson testified.
The government pushed to include the letters to show that Bannon knew that the excuse he raised for rejecting the subpoena had been worked out.
In one letter, Thompson communicated to Bannon’s lawyer that refusing to respond because of executive privilege was without “any legal basis” and that the committee didn’t hear from Trump that it had been waived.
The discussions Tuesday ended with the judge admitting the letters after Bannon’s defense said it would be better to present the documents without redactions to avoid limiting its defense.
The government has argued that Bannon ignored two deadlines to comply with the committee’s request for documents and testimony. Bannon’s defense lawyers say he never neglected the subpoena since the deadline for compliance was unclear. They plan to point to efforts by Thompson to enforce the subpoena after the return dates to suggest the deadline was waived.
As the trial neared, Bannon’s lawyer informed the committee he would be willing to testify since Trump had waived executive privilege. Trump sent a separate letter confirming that he was freeing Bannon to cooperate with the committee.
Nichols previously questioned whether Trump ever invoked executive privilege and said it was unclear whether the protection applied to Bannon since he was a private citizen when offering advice.
The Jan. 6 committee has continued its investigation of the attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021, with the next public testimony scheduled for Thursday.
The panel sought Bannon’s testimony because of his involvement in events leading up to riot, including reports that he attended “war room” meetings at Washington’s Willard Hotel with Rudy Giuliani and others to discuss how to keep Trump in office after he lost the 2020 presidential election. Trump also held two phone calls with Bannon on the eve of the riot, according to the committee.
