(PatrioticPost.com)- In their closing arguments on Thursday, Steve Bannon’s defense team said that their client is being denied the constitutional right to question witnesses against him.
The argument comes after U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols barred Bannon from speaking with House Democrats involved in the body’s Jan. 6 committee, including Chairman Bennie Thompson and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who established the committee.
Defense attorney David Schoen said he thinks we would be entitled to have the entire committee here, quite honestly.
Bannon is now facing a contempt trial in a federal court in Washington, D.C., for failing to comply with two subpoenas the committee had issued, one for a deposition and the second for producing records about the Capitol disturbance on January 6, 2021.
To prove his non-compliance was not deliberate, Schoen suggested that his client should have the chance to confront Congressmen.
Nichols asked what Mr. Thompson’s evidence concerning Bannon’s mens rea, or knowledge of crime, tell us?
The Mississippi Democrat Thompson, according to Schoen, can provide light on Bannon’s assertion that the subpoena’s deadlines “were flexible,” which served as the justification for his non-compliance.
Since the investigation began on Tuesday, the defense team has maintained that Bannon was talking with the committee about complying with two subpoenas.
Without calling a single witness, the team began and ended its presentation on Wednesday.
The prosecution will provide its final remarks on Friday before the jury hears the case.
Attorneys for the Justice Department have so far claimed that Bannon purposefully disregarded the subpoena compliance dates despite being aware of them. To support their claims, they also brought witnesses, a committee attorney, and an FBI agent to give testimony.
A month after the Justice Department received the House panel’s recommendation, Bannon was charged with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress.
Last year, Pelosi rejected two of the five House Republicans’ nominees for the panel, breaking House tradition. This prompted GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to withdraw all five of his party’s nominees from consideration for the position. The committee’s seven Democrats were subsequently joined by two anti-Trump Republicans who Pelosi personally selected.
According to the news service, each offense carries a sentence of at least 30 days and up to a year in jail upon conviction.
