Steve Bannon

2022 - 7 - 23

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Steve Bannon found guilty on both contempt of Congress charges (NPR)

A federal jury has convicted former Trump political adviser Steve Bannon of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for intentionally defying a subpoena ...

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Steve Bannon convicted of contempt of Congress for defying Capitol ... (The Guardian)

Jury found former Trump adviser guilty on two counts of criminal contempt for refusing to appear before House committee.

Bannon was barred from arguing that he believed his communications with Trump were subject to a legal doctrine called executive privilege that can keep certain presidential communications confidential. Bannon has spoken only once in court throughout the trial. In closing arguments on Friday morning, both sides re-emphasized their primary positions from the trial. Bannon, 68, reportedly smiled in court when the verdict was read. He had denied the charges. This is not difficult.

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Image courtesy of "Politico"

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon found guilty for refusing to ... (Politico)

A federal court jury in Washington deliberated for less than three hours before finding Bannon guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress, which the Justice ...

Trump fired him after about seven months on the job, following a series of run-ins and turf battles with other aides and amid suspicion that he was leaking details about internal deliberations to reporters. “Mr. Bannon was found guilty of contempt by a jury of his peers for his choice to ignore a lawful subpoena.” Nichols said an appeals court precedent from a similar contempt-of-Congress case decided 61 years ago ruled out the bulk of the defense Bannon’s lawyers said he wanted to present. His refusal to do so was deliberate and now a jury has found that he must pay the consequences.” Two other committee witnesses, former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and longtime Trump aide Dan Scavino, were also held in contempt by the House, but the Justice Department declined to prosecute them. “Mr. Bannon had an obligation to appear before the House Select Committee to give testimony and provide documents. The committee also recently learned, via Mother Jones, of an audio recording of Bannon days before Election Day, foreshadowing that Trump would declare victory on election night even if he lost and use it as part of a strategy to sow doubt about the integrity of the vote. In fact, it was Bannon’s team that urged the court to postpone closing arguments until Friday after prosecutors had urged a more expedited schedule a day earlier. Last week, days before his trial began, Bannon made a belated offer to testify to the select committee, citing an agreement by Trump to “waive” executive privilege over the testimony. “That could be a doubt as to the government’s case, a reasonable doubt as to whether Chairman Thompson signed this subpoena. Defense lawyer Evan Corcoran even displayed a series of letters in an attempt to convince jurors that Committee Chair Bennie Thompson’s (D-Miss.) signature on the subpoena to Bannon may have been forged. A federal court jury in Washington deliberated for less than three hours before finding Bannon guilty Friday afternoon on two counts of contempt of Congress, which the Justice Department brought last year after he defied a subpoena from the House panel.

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Image courtesy of "BBC News"

Steve Bannon: Jury finds Trump ally guilty of contempt of Congress (BBC News)

An unofficial adviser to Donald Trump, Mr Bannon refused to co-operate with the 6 January committee.

But the podcaster is still considered a top ally of Mr Trump. In closing statements, lawyer Evan Corcoran told the court the path his client Mr Bannon took "turned out to be a mistake" but "was not a crime". Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Mr Bannon vowed to have the case reversed on what his lawyer called a "bullet-proof appeal".

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Steve Bannon found guilty in contempt of Congress trial (Financial Times)

Former Trump adviser faces jail after failing to comply with subpoena from January 6 committee.

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Ex-Trump aide Bannon convicted of contempt of Congress (RTE.ie)

Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's former presidential adviser, has been found guilty of contempt of Congress.

Bannon was barred from arguing that he believed his communications with Mr Trump were subject to executive privilege. Unlike Bannon, Mr Meadows turned over some communications to the committee. The conviction may strengthen the committee's position as it seeks to secure testimony and documents from others in Trump's orbit. Mr Navarro's trial is scheduled to begin in November. The defense called none. His defense team in closing arguments suggested to jurors that Bannon was a political target and painted the main prosecution witness as a politically motivated Democrat with ties to one of the prosecutors.

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Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon found guilty of contempt of US ... (The Irish Times)

After two days of evidence and witness testimony the jury reached a unanimous verdict in less than three hours. Each of the two misdemeanour charges is ...

But the judge declined to question the jurors. Bannon has also played an instrumental role in right-wing media. He said he had only one disappointment that the “gutless members” of what he described as the “January 6th show trial” in the House of Representatives did not come and testify in his court case.

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'Bullet-proof appeal', says Bannon lawyers (RTE.ie)

Attorneys for Steve Bannon, who was an adviser to former US president Donald Trump, have said they will have "a bullet-proof appeal" against his conviction ...

US District Judge Carl Nichols set a 21 October sentencing date. Several rebuffed the panel. Mr Navarro's trial is scheduled for November. The Justice Department opted not to charge Trump associates Mark Meadows and Daniel Scavino for defying the committee despite a House vote recommending it. Mr Trump last year asked his associates not to co-operate, accusing the committee of trying to hurt him politically. Steve Bannon, a key associate of Donald Trump and an influential figure on the American right, was convicted yesterday of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee probing last year's attack on the US Capitol, a verdict the panel called a "victory for the rule of law". Attorneys for Steve Bannon, who was an adviser to former US president Donald Trump, have said they will have "a bullet-proof appeal" against his conviction for contempt of Congress.

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After conviction, Bannon says he's willing to go to jail over support ... (Axios)

I support Trump and the Constitution and if they want to put me in jail for that, so be it,” he said.

Bannon is the first close Trump aide to be convicted as a result of the committee's probe. Former Trump adviser Steven Bannon was found guilty Friday of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena issued by the Jan. 6 select committee investigating the attack, the New York Times reports. Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner testified to the Jan. 6 select committee that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy seemed "scared" and pleaded for White House intervention in a Jan. 6 phone call. Catch up fast: Bannon was found guilty Friday of two counts of contempt of Congress after he failed to comply with a subpoena from the Congressional select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. - Bannon was not working for the administration on the day of the riot, but the committee wanted his testimony because he was in communication with other key officials in the lead up to Jan. 6, and it believed his podcasts contributed to what occurred that day, theWashington Postreports. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon lashed out on Friday at the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, hours after a jury found him guilty of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with the committee's investigation.

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Bannon Verdict Shows No Defense Sometimes Isn't the Best Defense (Bloomberg)

Steve Bannon's lawyers chose not to call defense witnesses, submit evidence or let the jury hear directly from the longtime Donald Trump adviser in his ...

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Steve Bannon Guilty of Contempt of Congress (Vanity Fair)

A federal judge found the former Trump advisor guilty after he defied Jan. 6 committee subpoena.

Although the House committee recommended that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former communications adviser Dan Scavino be charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with its investigation, the DOJ did not press charges. Despite Bannon's staunch opposition to testifying before the House committee since it subpoenaed him in November, two weeks ago, Bannon changed his tune, saying that he was “willing” to testify. The jury reached a unanimous verdict, finding him guilty of two counts of contempt, in less than three hours.

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