Steve Bannon is accused of defying a committee subpoena dated January 6

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was indicted on Friday on contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena investigating the January 6 riots at the US Capitol.

Bannon, 68, was convicted after a four-day trial in federal court on two counts: one for refusing to appear for a deposition and one for refusing to provide documents in response to a subpoena from the committee. The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for just three hours.

He will be sentenced October 21 to two years in federal prison.

David Schoen, one of Bannon’s lawyers, said the verdict would not stop outside the courtroom. “This is the first round,” Sean said. “You will see this case overturned on appeal.”

Likewise, Bannon himself said: “We may have lost the battle here today; We are not going to lose this war.”

He thanked the judges for their service and said he had only one disappointment: “And these are the mediocre members of the judiciary committee on this show, the J-6 committee didn’t have the strength to come here and testify.”

Prosecutors were just as adamant on the other side of the verdict.

“Stephen Bannon’s subpoena was not an invitation to refuse or ignore,” said Matthew Graves, a US attorney in Washington.

“Aten. Bannon was required to appear before the House Select Committee to testify and present documents. His refusal to do so was deliberate, and now a jury has determined that he must pay the consequences.”

The committee asked Bannon to testify about his involvement in efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 presidential election. Bannon initially argued that his testimony was protected by Trump’s executive privilege. But the House panel and the Justice Department say such a claim is dubious because Trump fired Bannon from the White House in 2017 and therefore Bannon was an ordinary citizen when he consulted with the then-president before the riots. January 6, 2021.

Bannon’s lawyers tried to argue during the trial that he was not refusing to cooperate and that the dates were “competing”. They pointed to the fact that Bannon changed course shortly before the trial, after Trump withdrew his objections, and offered to testify before the committee.

During closing arguments on Friday morning, both sides reiterated key positions in the trial. The prosecution argued that Bannon intentionally ignored clear and distinct deadlines, while the defense argued that Bannon believed those deadlines were flexible and negotiable.

Bannon received a subpoena on September 23 of last year, giving him until October 7 to provide the requested documents to the committee and appear in person before October 14. After the Justice Department accepted the House recommendation.

Bannon’s attorney, Evan Corcoran, told the jury during closing arguments on Friday that the timeline was simply a “placeholder” while lawyers on each side negotiated.

Corcoran said the committee “hurried to judge” because it “wanted to make an example of Steve Bannon”.

Corcoran also suggested that the main government witness, Christine Amerling, a senior adviser to the Jan. 6 committee, had personal biases. Amerling admitted in deposition that he is a longtime Democrat and has been friends with one of the prosecutors for years.

January 6 committee chairman Benny Thompson, D-Miss., has been a particular target for Bannon and his defense team. His name came up several times during the trial, though US District Judge Carl Nichols cautioned the defense against suggesting in court that the committee itself was politically biased. Bannon criticized Thompson by name in his daily out-of-court comments, at one point implying that Thompson’s Covid-19 diagnosis last week was false to avoid pressure to appear.

Thompson and committee vice chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, praised the decision in a statement, calling it “a victory for the rule of law and an important defense of the select committee’s work.”

“Just as anyone responsible for the events of January 6 must be held accountable, anyone who obstructs our investigation into these matters must face the consequences,” they said. “No one is above the law.”

Prosecutors focused on a series of letters exchanged between the Jan. 6 committee and Bannon’s lawyers. Correspondence shows that Thompson immediately rejected Bannon’s claim that he was exempt from Trump’s claim to executive privilege and apparently threatened Bannon with criminal prosecution.

“The defense wants to complicate, complicate, and confuse,” Assistant US Attorney Amanda Vaughn said in her closing statement. “It’s not difficult. It’s not difficult. There were only two witnesses, because it’s as simple as it sounds.

The defense filed a plea for acquittal on Thursday, saying the prosecution had not proved its case. Filing an acquittal motion before Judge Nichols, Bannon’s attorney Corcoran said that “no reasonable jury could conclude that Mr. Bannon refused to comply.”

After granting the motion, the defense closed the case without calling witnesses, telling Nichols that there was no point in Bannon testifying because the judge’s earlier decisions had spoiled his planned defense. Among other things, Bannon’s team was prevented from asserting that Bannon believed he was protected by executive privilege or from calling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or members of a House panel as witnesses.