|
Listen to this article here |
Steve Bannon was found guilty by a federal jury on Friday on two counts of contempt of Congress.
The 68-year-old former White House strategist and ex-advisor to Donald Trump, faces a minimum sentence of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail for each count.
“Mr. Bannon had an obligation to appear before the House Select Committee to give testimony and provide documents. His refusal to do so was deliberate and now a jury has found that he must pay the consequences,” Matthew Graves, US Attorney for the District of Columbia, said.
Earlier this month, after the explosive testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, Bannon indicated to the January 6 committee that he was finally willing to testify. With today’s verdict, it seems unlikely that Bannon will follow through with that willingness.
White supremacist Steve Bannon found guilty of contempt
Bannon spoke to the media after the verdict “thanking the jury”.
“I want to start by thanking the jury. We respect their jury decision today,” he said. “We may have lost the battle here today, but we’re not going to lose the war”.
Bannon asserted to the January 6 committee that his testimony was protected by Trump’s claim of executive privilege. The committee claimed that assertion is incorrect because Bannon was fired from the White House in 2017.
Bannon hosts a podcast called War Room, where he routinely spreads white supremacist rhetoric, and even told his followers on January 5, 2021 that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”
Steve Bannon was at the Willard Hotel in Washington DC on the night of January 5, 2021. ….At his “War Room podcast: pic.twitter.com/91xEFO2hlv
— Mike (@UmustBkiddingME) July 11, 2022
The jury took less than three hours to reach a verdict on the two misdemeanor counts.
Bannon and his attorneys vowed to appeal and criticized the select committee and federal prosecutors for pursuing the case.
“This is a bulletproof appeal,” David Schoen, one of Bannon’s attorneys, said after the verdict was announced.
“The overreaching by the government in this case has been extraordinary at every level.”
Bannon and his attorneys vowed to appeal and criticized the select committee and federal prosecutors for pursuing the case.
Link to Black Wall Street Times>