Capitol Riot

Federal Judge Won't Dismiss Contempt Charges Against Steve Bannon

The former Trump adviser faces two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions from the House Committee investigating the Capitol riot

Steve Bannon, former advisor to former President Donald Trump, speaks to the media outside of the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse on June 15, 2022 in Washington, D.C.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

A federal judge on Wednesday declined to dismiss contempt of Congress charges against former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon.

U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols issued his ruling immediately after hearing courtroom argument from federal prosecutors and Bannon’s lawyers. The move clears the way for Bannon’s trial to start July 18, but one member of Bannon’s team said he might seek to have it delayed.  

Bannon was indicted last November by a federal grand jury, charged with two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions from the House Committee investigating the Capitol riot. One count accused him of refusing to appear for a deposition and the other was for declining to produce documents requested by the committee.

The committee said it wanted to explore a comment he made on his radio program on Jan. 5, when he predicted that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.” That could indicate that “he had some foreknowledge about extreme events that would occur the next day,” the committee said.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com.

During the opening night of the House committee hearings on the U.S. Capitol Riot, congressional chairs Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., laid out a damning indictment of former President Donald Trump with testimony from former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, Ivanka Trump and a U.S. Capitol police officer.
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