WASHINGTON — Longtime Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon will go on trial Monday in his criminal contempt case for refusing to cooperate with the congressional committee investigating the Capitol riot, even after he offered to publicly testify.
Bannon had argued that the trial should be delayed by three months because jurors would be affected by the news media attention surrounding the U.S. House hearings on the January 2021 insurrection. Then, over the weekend, he said he would appear before the committee after all.
But at a federal court hearing Monday in Washington, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols declined to postpone the July 18 trial and ruled that any bias can be established and dealt with during jury selection.
Bannon’s defense wants to use his new cooperation to argue at trial that he never was remiss in defying a subpoena from the House committee. During Monday’s court hearing, the government and attorneys for the House said Bannon’s reversal doesn’t change the fact that he was in criminal contempt for refusing to comply nine months ago.
Nichols said he would decide later whether he will let Bannon use that defense. The judge also said the trial could be suspended if there are insurmountable challenges to picking a jury.
Nichols also ruled on several other motions, eliminating many defenses for Bannon. One was Bannon’s stance that the subpoena he defied was invalid because the House committee was improperly constituted and that he was led to believe he was protected from prosecution because of past Justice Department opinions that shielded presidential advisers.
“What’s the point of going to trial if there are no defenses?” David Schoen, a lawyer for Bannon, asked at one point in the hearing.
Bannon was indicted in November on two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee seeking his testimony and production of documents. The subpoena pointed to news media reports of his involvement in “war room” meetings at Washington’s Willard hotel with Rudy Giuliani and others discussing how to keep Trump in office.
As misdemeanors, each of the charges carries a maximum one-year sentence in prison.
Over the weekend, Bannon’s lawyer Robert Costello released a letter from Trump to Bannon saying if an agreement can be reached with the Jan. 6 panel for Bannon’s testimony, “I will waive executive privilege for you.”
