Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former aide, was on Friday (July 22) found guilty of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to testify before lawmakers investigating the assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The former White House Chief Strategist, who led Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign, is guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress. First, refusal to appear for a deposition; second, refusal to produce documents.
According to federal law, Bannon faces a minimum sentence of 30 days in jail. Although, the sentencing will be at a later date.
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As he left the court in Washington, DC, Bannon spoke to reporters. He said that “we may have lost the battle here today, but we’re not going to lose the war.”
“I want to start by thanking the jury. We respect their jury decision today,” he added. Referring to the Justice Department’s closing argument, Bannon said that “the prosecutor missed one very important phrase – I stand with Trump and the Constitution and I will never back off that, ever.”
During the trial, he was among hundreds of people called by a House of Representatives committee to testify. He was asked about the sequence of events that took place when hundreds of Trump supporters stormed Congress on January 6, 2021.
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The 68-year-old Republican strategist did not appear on the summons date or provide requested documents. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Bannon guilty of both misdemeanour charges.
As quoted by media reports, Bannon’s attorney David Schoen said they planned to appeal the verdict, calling it a “bullet proof appeal.”
“This is bullet proof appeal. Have you ever in another case seen a judge say six times in a case that he thinks the standard for willfulness is wrong,” he told reporters.
“He’s saying it doesn’t comport with modern jurisprudence, he said it doesn’t comport with the standard definition, but he is saying his hands were bound by a 1961 decision. You will see this case reversed on appeal,” he added.
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