
On Sunday night, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a 10-page briefing accusing Steve Bannon’s lawyers of trying to issue “frivolous” complaints to stir up public support for their client from Trump supporters.
Bannon, a former Trump advisor is facing contempt of Congress charges Refusing to comply with subpoenas issued by the January 6 commissionThis was in the autumn. While justifying his refusal to cooperate with the investigation into the Capitol attack, Bannon made dubious claims of executive privilege, asserting that he was unable to share relevant documents with the commission because it would violate Trump’s purported rights.
Legal experts believe that such an argument is not supported by the law. rests on flimsy ground at best.
Bannon could spend a year in prison for each of the contempt charges.
The DOJ is seeking a protective order for Bannon and his attorneys to limit what he can speak out about in public. This will be done through the disclosure of discovery documents that the U.S. government provided to the defense team. The department noted in its briefing that Bannon “has indicated he intends to publicly disseminate the materials for an improper purpose: to make extrajudicial arguments about the merits of the case pending against him and the validity of the Government’s decision to seek an indictment.”
The DOJ made clear that Bannon’s defense strategy has nothing to do with winning in the courtroom; rather, his strategy is to stir up trouble and gain support among the public.
“The defense’s misleading claims, failure to confer, unexplained wholesale opposition, and extrajudicial statements make clear the defense’s real purpose: to abuse criminal discovery to try this case in the media rather than in court,” the DOJ legal brief read.
The Justice Department noted several instances where Bannon made extraordinary comments to media after being charged.
“I’m telling you right now, this is going to be the misdemeanor from hell for [Attorney General]Merrick Garland [Speaker of the House]Nancy Pelosi [President] Joe Biden,” Bannon said to reporters earlier this monthHe also stated, without evidence, Biden had ordered Garland’s prosecution.
Bannon’s commentaries also appear to be aimed at promoting himself to Trump loyalists. Shortly after Bannon surrendered the FBI, In a promo for his radio show, he said this that he and his lawyers were “taking down the Biden regime.”
The DOJ added that the protective order is necessary because allowing Bannon to make such arguments outside of the court “will have the collateral effect of witness tampering” as his doing so will “expose witnesses to public commentary on their potential testimony before trial and allow a witness to review summaries of other witnesses’ statements recounting the same event or events.”
The January 6 Commission subpoenaed Bannon to give evidence and testimony in September about his involvement in the Trump campaign on that morning when the Capitol was attacked. He spoke on his radio show earlier that day. Bannon had said that “all hell is going to break loose”When Congress met to certify 2020 presidential election, Trump lost to Biden.