Federal prosecutors are due to make their final pitch to jurors to convict Steve Bannon, Trump's former presidential adviser, on charges of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena by the committee investigating last year's attack on the U.S. Capitol
The prosecution and defense are expected to deliver closing arguments to the 12-member jury in federal court, with deliberations expected to begin afterward. The defense rested its case on Thursday without calling any witnesses after the prosecution rested on Wednesday, having called two witnesses over two days.
David Schoen, one of Bannon's attorneys, told Nichols that Bannon had wanted to testify at the trial, but opted not to do so due to the limits the judge placed on the kinds of arguments the defendant could make. Bannon's primary defense in the trial was that he believed the subpoena's deadline dates were flexible and subject to negotiation between his attorney and the committee.
The main prosecution witness was Kristin Amerling, a senior committee staff member. She testified on Wednesday that Bannon disregarded the subpoena's two deadlines, sought no extensions and offered an invalid rationale for his defiance - a claim by Trump involving a legal doctrine called executive privilege that can keep certain presidential communications confidential.
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