Steve Bannon convicted of contempt of Congress for defying Capitol attack subpoena

The jury in federal court took less than three hours to return its verdict and found Bannon guilty on two contempt charges stemming from his refusal to comply last year with a subpoena in the congressional investigation seeking documents and testimony.

Bannon was charged with two counts of criminal contempt for refusing to appear before the House committee, and each count carries a minimum of 30 days in jail and up to a year. He had denied the charges.

In closing arguments on Friday morning, both sides re-emphasized their primary positions from the trial. The prosecution maintained that Bannon willfully ignored clear and explicit deadlines, and the defense claimed Bannon believed those deadlines were flexible and subject to negotiation.

Bannon was served with a subpoena on 23 September last year ordering him to provide requested documents to the committee by 7 October and appear in person by 14 October.

The defense rested its case on Thursday without calling any witnesses after the prosecution rested on Wednesday, having called two witnesses over two days.

Bannon was barred from arguing that he believed his communications with Trump were subject to a legal doctrine called executive privilege that can keep certain presidential communications confidential. The judge also prohibited Bannon from arguing that he relied on legal advice from an attorney in refusing to comply with the congressional subpoena.

Bannon will almost certainly appeal the conviction after DC district court judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, indicated that he considered the controlling case law that obliged him to exclude the main defense arguments, in a series of pre-trial rulings devastating to Bannon, was bad law.