A pathetic attempt to escape a contempt of Congress charge by Steve Bannon, who claimed he was told by his lawyer that he didn’t have to because Donald Trump illegally exerted executive privilege, has been tossed by the court, Politico reports. There was no report if the court laughed while reading the decision.
Bannon said that his lawyer, Robert Costello, told him that Trump’s executive privilege claim nullified any need Bannon had to respond to two separate subpoenas from the House Select Committee responsible for investigating the January 6th domestic terrorist attack; one subpoena was for documentation and communications, while the other was for his testimony. Bannon did not respond to either.
U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, ruled that the “advice of counsel” defense, which can shield a client due to poor advice from his lawyer, was not applicable in a contempt of Congress case due to a 1961 precedent. Bannon will not be able to use the defense strategy in his contempt trial, Nichols ruled, severely weakening the likelihood Bannon will escape punishment.