Washington (AFP) - A jury began deliberations on Friday in the case of former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon for defying a subpoena to testify before lawmakers investigating the assault on the US Capitol.
Bannon, who led Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign, was among hundreds of people called by a House of Representatives committee to testify about the storming of Congress by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.
The 68-year-old Republican strategist did not appear on the summons date or provide requested documents related to the attack and events leading up to it, and was indicted on two charges of contempt of Congress.
Prosecutors and Bannon's defense lawyers delivered their closing arguments on Friday morning, after which Judge Carl Nichols told the 12-person jury to begin their deliberations.
Presenting the government's case, prosecutor Amanda Vaughn told the jury that Bannon is "not above the law" and had made a "deliberate decision" not to obey the subpoena.
Bannon's attorneys did not call any witnesses during the brief trial and he did not testify in his own defense.
Bannon's lawyer Evan Corcoran denied his client had ignored the subpoena, saying the date was "the subject of ongoing discussions and negotiation" and "flexible."
The decision to hold Bannon in contempt was politically motivated, Corcoran claimed.
Vaughn, the prosecutor, said the House committee had cause to believe Bannon and other Trump advisors could have information on links between the White House and the Capitol rioters.
According to the committee, Bannon spoke to Trump the day before thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to block the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's election victory.
They had been egged on by Trump in a fiery speech near the White House, during which he repeated his false claims of election fraud.
After refusing to testify for months, Bannon finally agreed to cooperate with the House investigation, a move prosecutors said was a "last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability."
Bannon, who served as Trump's strategy chief at the White House before being sacked in 2017, could serve 30 days to a year in jail for each of the two counts if found guilty.
