Steve Bannon found guilty in contempt of Congress trial

Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former political adviser, has been convicted of contempt of Congress after failing to comply with a subpoena issued by the committee probing the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

On Friday, Bannon was found guilty of two charges in a US federal court for the District of Columbia: refusing to hand over documents and refusing to appear at a deposition, according to the US Department of Justice.

The former adviser, who will be sentenced on October 21, faces a fine of between $100 and $100,000 as well as a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail for each count.

The subpoena “was not an invitation that could be rejected or ignored”, said Matthew Graves, US attorney for the District of Columbia, in a statement. 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 received a subpoena in September 2021 from the panel of lawmakers investigating the January 6 attack and was indicted by a federal grand jury for contempt of Congress in November.

Appearing on the court steps shortly after the verdict, Bannon and his attorney David Schoen indicated that they would appeal against the verdict. Bannon thanked the jury but called members of the committee “gutless” for failing to testify during the trial.

Bannon was Trump’s chief political strategist during his 2016 campaign and worked in the White House from January to August of 2017. The former president ultimately dismissed Bannon that year following the neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville that left one woman dead.

The January 6 panel had approached Bannon for information on the Capitol riots given he had attended meetings at the Willard Hotel in Washington before the event. During these gatherings, efforts were made to persuade members of Congress to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win, according to the cover letter issued with Bannon’s subpoena.

In the final hearing of the summer session on Thursday, the January 6 committee showed how Trump ignored requests to halt the insurrection and instead watched the attack on the Capitol escalate on Fox News for hours.

The hearings, which are expected to resume in September, have revealed how Trump put pressure on US states and the justice department to block the election’s certification despite being told by close advisers he had lost the vote.

The investigation has dented the former president’s approval ratings while elevating other Republican lawmakers potentially seeking nomination in 2024.