Bannon Judge Refuses To Postpone Trial Just Because Dog Ate Defense’s Homework

(Picture by Ben Jackson/Getty Visuals for SiriusXM) Stephen K. Bannon

And we’re off to the races! This afternoon Steve Bannon’s demo on contempt of Congress fees kicked off in the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse.

In spite of vociferous protest from the former Trump aide’s attorneys that it would be extremely hard to seat an neutral jury in DC, there were loads of citizens who answered “Steve WHO?” all through voir dire. In the party, jury range took just a working day and a fifty percent, enabling for opening statements and witnesses to start out this afternoon.

But prior to that, Bannon’s lawyers threw a single previous Hail Mary move to Judge Carl J. Nichols, asking to continue the situation for a month thanks to a “seismic shift” in the defenses’s technique. By which they necessarily mean, the legal professionals invested the earlier 3 months planning to existing a “mistake of law” defense, in spite of pretty clear precedent that it is not offered to their shopper.

They initial tried using to argue guidance of counsel, saying that Bannon’s attorney Robert Costello advised him that it was authorized to give the January 6 Select Committee the finger in response to a subpoena for documents and testimony. When that defense obtained blocked, they slapped three shirts and numerous days of stubble on it and termed it variously superior faith reliance, public authority, and entrapment by estoppel. And then final week, as any one shelling out a modicum of notice would have predicted, the courtroom blocked all those defenses as well.

“What’s the level of likely to trial if there are no defenses?” questioned a shell-shocked David Schoen, one particular of Bannon’s attorneys who formerly represented Donald Trump in his 2nd impeachment.

“Agreed,” replied Decide Nichols, a Trump appointee.

Immediately after several motions making an attempt to get the circumstance postponed thanks to publicity about the Select Committee’s hearings, Bannon’s lawyers created a single previous ditch effort to kick the can down the street.

Would the court prettyplease give them 30 times to figure out some sort of protection for their consumer?

In reality, it would not.

With opening statements underway, it seems Bannon’s staff will be leaning greatly into the concept that Committee Chair Bennie Thompson’s offhand assertion that he hoped Bannon would nonetheless come in meant that there was no time limit to the subpoena. Just because it reported he had to show up and possibly testify or invoke privilege on October 14, 2021 didn’t mean he truly had to show up that working day — it was far more like an open up invitation to appear each time he felt like it. And, hey, would not ya know it, he feels like it proper now!

The protection staff is also leaning closely into the notion that their consumer is only getting prosecuted for his political beliefs — though attempting extremely hard to keep the compound of Bannon’s beliefs much away from the jury. Which is a considerably cry from generating this circumstance “the misdemeanor from hell for Merrick Garland, Nancy Pelosi, and Joe Biden.”

Ah, perfectly. Spend your funds, acquire your likelihood.

US v. Bannon [Docket via Court Listener]

Liz Dye lives in Baltimore wherever she writes about legislation and politics.