Steve Bannon, a former close adviser to Donald Trump, was convicted by a jury in federal court on Friday of obstructing Congress’ investigative powers after he refused to cooperate with the commission in the attack on the Capitol.
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The 68-year-old, a figure of right-wing populism in the US and who led Donald Trump’s successful 2016 campaign, will face his sentence in October.
A federal jury in Washington deliberated for less than three hours Friday to conclude that he is guilty of the two charges against him.
He faces a prison sentence of between one month and one year for each of these charges.
Even after his eviction from the White House in August 2017, Steve Bannon remained close to Donald Trump and spoke to him the day before the attack on Congressional headquarters on January 6, 2021.
To find out the nature of their discussions, the parliamentary commission of inquiry charged with investigating the former President’s role in the coup had summoned Steve Bannon to testify and produce documents.
He declined, citing presidents’ right to keep certain talks secret, leading to his being accused of “obstructing” the work of Congress.
silent defense
At Tuesday’s court hearing, prosecutor Amanda Vaughn accused Steve Bannon of feeling “above the law.”
Mr. Bannon “ignored orders of compliance even after Congress dismissed his allegations and dismissed numerous warnings that he would be prosecuted if he failed to comply with the subpoena, as he was required to do,” added Amanda Vaughn.
They believe the commission had reasonable grounds to believe that he, like others close to the president, might have information about the connections between Donald Trump and his supporters, who stormed the Capitol as lawmakers endorsed Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.
The defense produced no witnesses for the trial, which began Monday with jury selection, and Steve Bannon did not speak to defend himself.
However, his attorney, Evan Corcoran, condemned the political prosecution, assuring that “no one ignored the subpoena” and that even negotiations with the commission over his impeachment date had taken place.
As his trial drew near, Steve Bannon had agreed to work with MPs. Prosecutors had denounced “a last-minute reversal to avoid” a conviction, and the judge in charge of the case had wanted to keep the trial going.
A vocal critic of the political establishment, Steve Bannon is closely associated with far-right ideas, which he promoted directly to Donald Trump when the business tycoon moved into the White House in 2017.
He previously ran the controversial news site Breitbart, a hub of the “alternative right,” a movement associated with certain conspiracy theories that includes a number of activists who believe in white supremacy.