A federal judge on Thursday once again denied an attempt to delay the trial of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon over criminal contempt of Congress charges stemming from a House investigation into the January 6 Capitol riots.
Bannon’s trial is set to begin Monday, after US District Court Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, DC rejected a motion to delay Bannon’s motion until at least mid-October.
“We’re still going to go to trial on Monday,” Nichols said, NBC News reported from Courthouse.
Bannon’s lawyer Argued in a court filed on Wednesday That the large amount of publicity before the trial risked prejudice against him among the jurors who were chosen to hear his case.
Steve Bannon, talk show host and former White House adviser to former President Donald Trump, arrives at US District Court on June 15, 2022 in Washington, US.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
He noted that CNN is scheduled to air a one-hour documentary on Bannon on Sunday evening, the day before the trial begins.
Nichols on Monday rejected an earlier bid by Bannon’s lawyers to postpone the trial by three months. In that effort, Bannon’s lawyer argued that media coverage of House hearings would harm his right to a fair trial.
At the same hearing, the judge also ruled that Bannon could not argue at trial that he failed to comply with the summons on grounds of executive privilege, and limited whom he could call as a witness. The rulings affected Bannon’s defense strategy – prompting one of his lawyers to reportedly ask in court, “What’s the point of prosecuting here if there’s no defense?”
Bannon did not appear in the Washington courtroom on Monday or Thursday.
Bannon, who served just seven months as former President Donald Trump’s top White House adviser, has been indicted on two contempt charges for refusing to cooperate with a House Select Committee investigation into the Capitol riots. But faces a minimum of 30 days in jail.
This is developing news. Please check update.
, CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report.