Trial of Steve Bannon Set to Start at Washington Courthouse on Monday

Steve Bannon, 68, faces charges of criminal contempt of Congress over refusing to cooperate with the House select committee that is investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

The trial of Steve Bannon, an adviser to former US President Donald Trump, is set to kick off at the federal courthouse in Washington, DC on Monday.

Bannon, a former White House strategist, is charged with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 breach of the US Capitol.

Each count carries a minimum sentence of 30 days of jail and a maximum sentence of a year behind bars.

The trial follows a legal battle between the defense and prosecutors over which evidence is admissible at trial and constant attempts by Bannon to postpone the proceedings entirely.

About a week ago, the 68-year-old notified the select committee that he is now ready to testify, with Bannon’s lawyer Robert Costello explaining that the change was because Trump has waived his executive privilege claim from preventing the testimony.

The 45th president had repeatedly asserted executive privilege in a bid to try and block witness testimony and the release of White House documents amid the committee’s probe. In January, the Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s efforts to stop the National Archives from cooperating with the panel after a lower court judge noted, in particular, that “Presidents are not kings.”

In separate hearings last week, US District Judge Carl Nichols declined motions to delay the trial as Bannon's lawyers raised concerns about what they described as prejudicial comments made during a hearing held by the select committee.

“I am cognizant of current concerns about publicity and bias and whether we can seat a jury that is going to be appropriate and fair, but as I said before, I believe the appropriate course is to go through the voir dire process,”, Nichols said, adding that he intends to get a jury that "is going to be appropriate, fair and unbiased.”

Capitol Breach

On January 6, 2021, a mob which included Trump supporters attempted to stop Congress from certifying the results of what the 45th president slammed as "the most corrupt election" in US history. Five people died during the riots, and dozens more were injured, including at least 138 police officers.

Trump was accused of "incitement of insurrection" despite having called on his supporters, via his now-suspended Twitter account, "to stay peaceful" and "go home", and recording a video address on January 7 condemning the violence. He was impeached for an unprecedented second time over the accusations, but was then acquitted in the Senate.