Steve Bannon has been found guilty of contempt for defying a congressional subpoena, the Associated Press reported Friday.
The “War Room” host and longtime Trump ally refused to appear before the Special Committee. He was convicted in a four-day trial.
The 68-year-old Bannon was convicted by a 12-person jury after a four-day trial in federal court in Washington. The two counts against him include refusing to appear for a deposition, and refusing to provide documents.
Bannon will be sentenced Oct. 21 and faces up to two years in federal prison. Each count carries a minimum 30-day sentence.
The Special Committee sought Bannon’s testimony, which he argued was protected by executive privilege. But Bannon was already fired by Trump – and thereby a private citizen – when he consulted with the President in the runup to the 2021 Capitol riot.
Bannon could possibly have avoided the trouble by showing up and pleading the Fifth; instead, he defied the committee openly and refused to defend himself when he was told he couldn’t subpoena witnesses he wanted, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In Friday closing arguments, Bannon’s team said it believed congressional deadlines that came with the subpoenas to be flexible and negotiatiable. Bannon was served on Sept. 23 of 2021, then indicted in November on to counts of criminal contempt of Congress.