The court found Bannon, 68, guilty of two counts of misdemeanor for refusing to testify or produce documents before the House Committee.
Any conviction for contempt of Congress carries a penalty of 30 days to a year in prison and a fine of $100 to $100,000. The penalty has not yet been determined.
Who is Steve Bannon?
The CPI investigates the events of January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attempted to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The decision was made by a jury of 12 people who took less than three hours to come to a decision.
This is the first person to be convicted of contempt for US Congress since 1974 (when one of those responsible for the Watergate scandal was convicted).
Bannon was one of the top strategists in Trump’s successful 2016 election. He then worked in the US government as chief strategist until he fell out with Trump in 2017.
In addition to being a Trump strategist, Bannon was also an investor in media companies identified with the US right.
Defense attorneys argue Bannon is a political target. The key witness for the prosecution, for Bannon’s supporter, is a person who identifies with the Democratic Party, is politically motivated and associated with one of the prosecutors.
The prosecution’s key witness was Kristin Amerling, one of the committee’s top officials, who testified that Bannon failed to meet the deadlines to respond to the subpoena (drafted September 2021), did not attempt to delay the deadline to respond, and his response invalid justified . Lack of responses (he said he was protected by confidentiality to which presidents are entitled and claimed that testifying before the CPI would violate Trump’s secrets).
The prosecution responded that Bannon despised the authority of Congress and must be held accountable.
Bannon’s role in the invasion
The CPI says Bannon spoke to Trump at least twice on the eve of the attack and that the former strategist also attended a planning meeting at a Washington DC hotel.
On Jan. 5, 2021, Bannon said on a podcast that “everything is going to blow up tomorrow.”