Steve Bannon will not be detained before trial on charges of contempt of Congress after he failed to comply with US House committee subpoenas and failed to appear to testify in the Jan. 6 case investigating the Capitol invasions.
Bannon, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, appeared in federal court for the first time this Monday. It will be processed next Thursday (18th).
Prosecutors do not seek to detain Bannon before the trial. Under conditions approved by the judge, Bannon agreed to check-ins weekly, surrender your passport, notify any out-of-district travel, and seek court approval for travel outside the continental United States.
Bannon, 67, was charged last week with a lawsuit related to his refusal to appear for a deposition and another related to his refusal to present documents to the House committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol.
Each charge carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in prison, as well as a fine of up to $100,000, the Department of Justice said.
“I’m telling you now, this will be the ‘misdemeanor from hell’ for Merrick Garland, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden,” Bannon told reporters after the hearing, vowing his team “will go on the attack.”
Before his court appearance, Bannon turned himself in this Monday morning at an FBI field office in Washington. He was met by several journalists and was defiantly addressing the TV cameras outside the building, saying: “We are overthrowing the Biden regime.”
Message to supporters
Moments before handing himself on Monday, Bannon aired on social media and told his supporters to “stay focused.”
“I don’t want anyone taking their eyes off what we do every day, OK,” Bannon said to a camera on his online show “WarRoom.” “I want you to stay focused on the message,” he added before entering the FBI office. “Thank you very much.”
David Schoen, a civil rights lawyer who defended Trump in his second impeachment trial, appeared alongside Bannon in court and on camera outside after Monday’s hearing.
Schoen said that Bannon failed to comply with the subpoena of the selected House committee because he was following the advice of his attorney at the time.
“He was instructed by his lawyer not to show up,” Schoen told reporters.
Bannon subpoena
In October, the January 6 committee (date of the Capitol raid) of the House subpoenaed Bannon’s documents and testimony, but his lawyer, Robert Costello, said he would not cooperate with the investigation because Trump had been instructed not to do so. .
Costello also pointed to Trump’s claims that the documents sought were protected under executive privilege and told the committee that “executive privileges belong to President Trump” and his invocation of executive privilege must be “honored”.
The White House attorney’s office told Costello it would not support Bannon’s refusal to testify. The Biden White House has refused to claim executive privilege over documents and witnesses related to the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill.
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Reference: CNN Brasil
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