Schoen is spinning Proposal Bannon’s public defense: He was following the advice of his (former) attorney, who told him to respect Trump’s claims of executive privilege. But Schönen’s arguments are no better than those during Trump’s impeachment trial. It’s worth taking the time to dismiss them.
First, Trump is no longer president, and he does not have to invoke executive privilege to protect himself and his peers from accountability. Held last week as Judge Tonya Chutkan refute Trump’s Attempt to Stop the National Archives from Releasing January 6 Documents: The President Isn’t King — And Trump Isn’t President either.
The ex-President’s invocation of privilege is not a sufficient ground for taking the law into his own hands and refusing to merely show, as Bannon did, Trump once helped Bannon escape accountability, Forgiveness After being arrested on wire fraud charges. not this time.
Trump’s attempt to enforce the privilege is particularly weak here because he was not acting as chief executive when he planned and implemented his attempt to reverse the election. He was acting as a defeated candidate, and has no candidate privilege.
Second, there is no such thing as podcaster privilege. Even if Trump could invoke the privilege, it wouldn’t protect Bannon — he was a podcast host, not a White House adviser, on Jan. Bannon’s whispers with the other conspirators are also not Oval Office advice to the president.
Third, Bannon cannot hide behind his lawyer more than he can hide behind Trump. shown claims That Bannon was only acting on the advice of his attorney, who told him to respect Trump’s invocation of privilege. But most federal courts recognize that relying on the advice of a lawyer is not the right thing to do. Defense for criminal contempt. The Godfather’s Vito Corleone didn’t get the right to break the law because Tom Hagen told him it was okay.
Fourth, even if the reliance on the advice of a lawyer was a defense, it would not help Bannon. A person who wishes to invoke a lawful privilege in good faith does not simply disregard a summons. He answers in a timely manner, and he talks. It replaces all relevant documents that are not covered by the privilege, and produces a privilege log. it shows Which documents is he not turning over and why? He doesn’t just give up on a scheduled statement. He shows up, answers when he can, and invokes the privilege on a question-by-question basis.
Even with an executive privilege claim, the committee can laudably raise questions that have nothing to do with Trump, such as the communications Bannon had with others outside the administration who were pre-rebellion.”war Room“At the Willard Hotel in DC.
Jeffrey Clark, the Justice Department attorney who apparently cooperated with Trump in trying to reverse The election results also demanded an invocation of privilege – but they at least Shown To do so on his statement.
Bannon didn’t, and he didn’t haggle over one of two. It appears that he did not even attempt to act in good faith. He seems to hold Congress in huge contempt. Now it’s officially mutual.
Fifth, and finally, with no facts or laws in his favor, Schoen has resorted to claiming that Congress and the DOJ are unfair to his client. It’s not going to bite it as a hedge – try Victory a selective prosecution defense — but it’s also Wrong on the facts.
Bannon’s own words have been even more damaging than the words of his lawyer. When he surrendered to the FBI on Monday, Bannon brazenly as outlined His intention, “I don’t want anyone to take their eyes off the ball…we are bringing down the Biden regime.”
Willingly and willfully willingness to refuse to comply, to prove criminal contempt – is required. Look at the tapes of the words that are to be played during the test to show bad intentions.
Judge Carl Nichols may be a Trump-appointed man, but it’s hard to imagine he would pity Bannon’s brazenness. Proof of this is his sharp decision against Trump aides Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell slammed his attempt to get the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case against him. throw out,
It is true that criminal contempt cases are rare. they should be. They are a big deal. But Bannon’s blatant contempt for Congress cries out for the consequences. And our republic needs them.
We are still searching for answers about what happened on January 6th and how to stop the ongoing attack by Bannon and his co-conspirators on the idea of a democratic government.
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