Trial begins for Steve Bannon, former Trump adviser

Jury selection began Monday for the trial of Steve Bannon, an adviser to former President Donald Trump who faces two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to show up for a committee meeting investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on Capitol Hill.

The committee subpoenaed Bannon because investigators believe he had advance knowledge of some of the elements of the attack in which hundreds of Trump supporters tried to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Of the several former Trump officials the committee has solicited for testimony, Bannon has been among the most defiant, refusing to produce documents or attend depositions and making combative public statements about the investigation.

Each of the two counts of contempt carries a possible sentence of 30 days to a year in jail, as well as a fine of up to $100,000.

Monday’s hearing kicked off a process in which potential jurors answer questions from attorneys for both sides to establish their ability to consider the case objectively. By the end of the day, eight potential jurors had been identified, out of a total of 12, plus alternates, required for a federal criminal trial.

knowledge of assault

The January 6 committee says it wants Bannon’s testimony because “according to many published reports and his own public statements, Stephen K. Bannon had specific knowledge of the events planned for January 6 before they occurred.

In his January 5 podcast, Bannon warned: “The world is going to end tomorrow.”

The committee also said that in addition to helping organize the “Stop The Robbery” movement that helped fuel the attack, Bannon participated in a “war” meeting at a hotel near the White House on Jan. 5 and spoke with Trump that day. day.

In a contempt resolution submitted to the House of Representatives, the committee wrote: “In essence, Bannon appears to have played a multifaceted role in the events of January 6, and the people of the United States are entitled to hear his first-hand testimony related to with their actions.”

Executive privilege argument

Bannon, whose official White House title was chief strategist and senior adviser to the president during the seven months he served in the Trump administration in 2017, argued that his documents and testimony were protected under his connections to the executive branch.

Under the doctrine of “executive privilege,” certain communications between a president and his advisers can be kept confidential.

In a preliminary hearing last week, District Judge Carl J. Nichols ruled that Bannon, who left his White House job three years before the attack, could not claim executive privilege for his defense.

At the same hearing, the judge, who was appointed by Trump, dismissed almost all of the defenses that Bannon’s lawyers were planning, including a suggestion that the trial was unnecessary because Bannon was now willing to consider testimony before the committee.

The judge said Bannon’s only remaining defense is to argue that he somehow screwed up the date of the committee’s appointment.

Nichols’ ruling prompted an interesting exchange between the judge and Bannon’s attorney, David I. Schoen, who complained, “So why go to trial if there are no defenses?”

“Okay,” replied the judge.

few alternatives

Noah Bookbinder, a former public corruption prosecutor now president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the judge’s response indicates Bannon’s plight.

“The judge essentially told Bannon to plead guilty, because he really doesn’t see a way that he can be found not guilty,” Bookbinder told The Associated Press. voice of america.

He added that it’s hard to predict what a plea or guilty verdict would mean for Bannon.

“There are not many precedents. There are no cases like that that often go to trial,” she explained.

While Bannon’s refusal to testify may not be on the level of many things people go to prison for, according to Bookbinder it’s quite possible that Bannon will end up in jail if he refuses to provide evidence to the committee.

“Imagine a case where the judge says, ‘He’s not doing anything that brought him to this point.’ Placing him on probation is not going to be very effective, and so a judge may send him to prison,” Bookbinder said.

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