Ex-Trump aide Steve Bannon found guilty on two contempt charges

WASHINGTON - Steve Bannon, former President Donald Trump's one-time chief strategist, was found guilty on Friday on two counts of contempt of Congress.

The conviction follows Bannon's four-day trial in federal court. Both of the charges relate to Bannon's refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee probing the Jan 6, 2021 assault on the US Congress by Trump's supporters.

Bannon, 68, faced one count for failing to appear for a deposition, and another for refusing to hand over requested documents. The jury deliberated for under three hours before reaching its verdict.

"The subpoena to Stephen Bannon was not an invitation that could be rejected or ignored,” reported Matthew Graves, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, as saying in a statement.

"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.”

The committee subpoenaed Bannon on Sept 23, requiring him to appear and produce documents to the Select Committee on Oct 7, and testify the following week.

Bannon refused, citing what he claimed was executive privilege despite not having worked at the White House since 2017.

He was indicted on Nov 12 for failing to appear.

The committee is seeking to interview Bannon about meetings he participated in at the Willard Hotel in Washington on Jan 5, 2021, the night before Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to prevent President Joe Biden from assuming office.

The Willard, which is blocks from the White House, was allegedly the scene of Trump's "War Room" where the former president's loyalists worked around the clock to come up with strategies to overturn the November 2020 election, which Trump lost by more than 7 million votes.

Bannon now faces a minimum of 30 days in prison per count.

The maximum sentence he can receive is one year per count. There is also a fine of between US$100 to US$100,000. - BERNAMA