Trump’s Ex-Adviser Steve Bannon Found Guilty in Contempt of US Congress

Bannon was a key adviser to Trump and was found to be closely linked to the 6 January Capitol Hill riots.

Steve Bannon. 

(File photo)

Former United States White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, who worked as an adviser to former US President Donald Trump, was found guilty in contempt of the US Congress by a federal jury on Friday, 22 July.

An influential figure for the American right-wing, Bannon was convicted for defying a subpeona and refusing to appear in front of the committee that was probing the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

After two days of hearings, the jury unanimously found Bannon guilty of contempt on two counts in less than three hours.

Each count carries a charge of minimum 30 days and maximum one year of jail time, and Bannon is set to be sentenced on 21 October, noted Al Jazeera.

His lawyers intend on appealing the verdict.

"We may have lost a battle here today, but we are not going to lose this war," Bannon was quoted as saying in the report, adding that he respected the jury's decision.

Steve Bannon was served with a subpoena on 23 September 2021 that ordered him to submit requested documents and appear in court in person by 14 October, as per the report.

During the closing arguments of the hearing on Friday, the prosecution maintained the Bannon had wilfully ignored explicit deadlines, while the defence countered said that he had believed them to be "flexible and subject to negotiation."

Bannon did not take the stand during the trial.

The investigative committee pointed to Bannon's closeness to Trump, his presence in an alleged war-room of Trump's allies in Washington a day before the 6 January Capitol Hill riots, and a statement on his podcast that "all hell" would "break loose," noted CNN.

Congress voted to hold him in contempt in October, noting that Bannon appeared "to have played a multi-faceted role in the events on January 6th," and that the American people were "entitled" to hear his testimony regarding his involvement, it added.

Bannon is the second uncooperative witness to be charged with contempt of Congress. Former White House adviser Peter Navarro was convicted by a grand jury in June for non-compliance, but has plead not guilty.

The Committee has continued to seek cooperation for its investigation into the Capitol attack, from reluctant witnesses. The conviction was dubbed a "victory for the rule of law" by the panel, and is considered one for the Justice Department as well, according to the Indian Express.

(With inputs from CNN, Al Jazeera, and The Indian Express.)