Bannon won’t testify as contempt trial heads to jury

Source: Politico | July 21, 2022 | Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney

Former Trump adviser faces jail time if convicted of two misdemeanors in defying congressional subpoena.

Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon passed up his chance Thursday to call witnesses or take the stand himself in his contempt of Congress trial, clearing the way for the jury to begin deliberating in the case by Friday morning.

“The jury has now heard all of the evidence it will hear,” U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols declared shortly after Bannon’s attorney David Schoen said the defense was preparing to rest in the case over Bannon’s failure to comply with a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 select committee.

The announcement from Schoen came during court proceedings Thursday morning outside the presence of the jury. “Mr. Bannon won’t be testifying,” Schoen added.

Schoen later read a statement declaring that Bannon wasn’t testifying because Nichols had ruled out most of the defenses Bannon wanted to discuss, including an assertion of executive privilege by former President Donald Trump and that he relied on an attorney’s advice in declining to respond to the subpoena.

Jurors appeared in the courtroom Thursday for only a few minutes. They did not hear any explanation of Bannon’s decision. The only official word they received that the defendant would not testify was through Bannon lawyer Evan Corcoran declaring, “The defense rests, your honor.” A short time later, Nichols sent jurors home to return Friday for final instructions and closing arguments.

However, as usual, Bannon and his lawyers strode to the cameras and reporters outside the courthouse at the end of the day and explained why the former senior adviser to Trump was passing up his chance to testify.

“He has wanted, at all times, wanted to testify before Congress. He told them in the very first letter he would comply if they go before a judge and the judge orders him—orders that the executive privilege wasn’t valid,” Schoen said. “He’s not someone who thought he was above the law—ever…..Once the judge cut out all of the defenses in the case, he wasn’t able to ever tell his story.”

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