Judge deals blow to Steve Bannon’s legal defense in upcoming trial

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Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon cannot argue at his trial on charges of contempt of Congress that he is not guilty because he was following the advice of his lawyer, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols said that such a defense is not available in a contempt of Congress case, dealing Bannon’s defense a major setback. He faces trial in July. “It’s a serious blow, because he doesn’t have another good defense,” said Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor. “He’ll now have to make a decision about whether to proceed to trial or try to cut some kind of deal.” Bannon was indicted in 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 Jan. 6 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. If convicted, Bannon, who is 68, could be sentenced to a year behind bars and a fine of up to $1OO,OOO.