Steve Bannon didn’t seem on the summons date or present requested paperwork, and was indicted on two fees of contempt of Congress.
Steve Bannon didn’t seem on the summons date or present requested paperwork, and was indicted on two fees of contempt of Congress.
A federal jury discovered Donald Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon responsible of contempt of Congress on Friday for defying a subpoena to testify earlier than lawmakers investigating the assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Bannon, who led Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential election marketing campaign, was amongst tons of of individuals known as by a House of Representatives committee to testify concerning the storming of Congress by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.
The 68-year-old Republican strategist didn’t seem on the summons date or present requested paperwork, and was indicted on two fees of contempt of Congress.
The 12-person jury deliberated for lower than three hours earlier than discovering Bannon responsible of each misdemeanor fees.
Bannon, who served as Mr. Trump’s technique chief on the White House earlier than being sacked in 2017, faces a minimal of 30 days in jail and a most sentence of a yr for every depend.
Sentencing was set for October.
Presenting the federal government’s case, prosecutor Amanda Vaughn instructed the jury that Bannon was “not above the law” and had made a “deliberate decision” to not obey the subpoena.
Bannon’s attorneys didn’t name any witnesses throughout the temporary trial and he didn’t testify in his personal protection.
Bannon’s lawyer Evan Corcoran denied his shopper had ignored the subpoena, saying the date was “the subject of ongoing discussions and negotiation” and “flexible.”
The choice to carry Bannon in contempt was politically motivated, Mr. Corcoran claimed.
Vaughn stated the House committee had trigger to imagine Bannon and different Trump advisors might have data on hyperlinks between the White House and the Capitol rioters.
According to the committee, Bannon spoke to Mr. Trump the day earlier than hundreds of his supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to dam the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.
They had been egged on by Mr. Trump in a fiery speech close to the White House, throughout which he repeated his false claims of election fraud.
After refusing to testify for months, Bannon lastly agreed to cooperate with the House investigation, a transfer prosecutors dismissed as a “last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability.”
Source: www.thehindu.com