Steve Bannon Guilty Of Contempt In Jan. 6 Insurrection Probe

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Steve Bannon was convicted Friday of contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection of the U.S. Capitol, according to authorities.

Bannon, who ran Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and advised Trump during his time in the White House, was found guilty after a four-day federal jury trial of refusing to attend a deposition and not providing documents subpoenaed by the committee, the Associated Press reported.

Bannon initially argued he was protected by executive privilege despite having been fired from the White House several years before Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, but eventually offered to testify long after the subpoena’s Oct. 14 deadline had passed, according to the Associated Press. His deadline to turn over the documents was Oct. 7, according to authorities, who said he was subpoenaed Sept. 23 and indicted Nov. 12. Bannon was barred by a judge from arguing that he had defied the subpoena on the advice of attorneys, according to The Hill.

“The subpoena to Stephen Bannon was not an invitation that could be rejected or ignored,” Matthew Graves, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a news release. “Mr. Bannon had an obligation to appear before the House Select Committee to give testimony and provide documents. His refusal to do so was deliberate and now a jury has found that he must pay the consequences.”

Bannon’s team sought acquittal and insinuated the committee’s chief counsel, Kristin Amerling, was biased, according to the Associated Press, which noted the defense was not allowed to call members of the House panel as witnesses. Only two witnesses testified, The Hill reported.

“Mr. Bannon has a full story for why he didn’t show up — his advice of counsel, the invocation of executive privilege, questions about its validity and so on,” his attorney, David Schoen, said this week in court before the trial started, according to The New York Times. “All of these defenses and his story of the case have been barred by the court at the government’s request.”

Bannon, 68, is set to be sentenced Oct. 21, authorities said. Each count of his conviction carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year behind bars, as well as a fine of $100 to $100,000, according to authorities.

The New York Times characterized Bannon's offenses as "a low-level process crime," but indicated his conviction was noteworthy, as it is the first to affect a confidant of Trump's in connection with a Capitol insurrection probe.

“Mr. Bannon was found guilty of contempt by a jury of his peers for his choice to ignore a lawful subpoena," Steven D’Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, said in the news release. "The FBI will continue our sworn duty to investigate those who have committed violations of our laws and hold them accountable for their actions."