A federal judge set July 18 as a tentative date for the trial of Steve Bannon over contempt of Congress charges on Tuesday.
The trial is expected to last two weeks and will take place in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The trial date gives his lawyers over seven months to prepare for the trial. They initially requested 10 months.
STEVE BANNON PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS CHARGES
Bannon’s trial will be overseen by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols. Nichols was appointed to the position by former President Donald Trump.
Bannon pleaded not guilty to contempt of Congress charges on Nov. 17. He cited executive privilege as part of his refusal to cooperate with a subpoena from the House select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“I’m telling you right now, this is going to be the misdemeanor from hell for Merrick Garland, Nancy Pelosi, and Joe Biden,” Bannon said following his not guilty plea. “We’re tired of playing defense, we’re going to go on the offense on this.”
Congress voted to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress on Oct. 21 for failing to cooperate with the committee. The committee previously warned him that if he failed to appear for deposition and provide it with documents, he would be held in contempt.
During the time of the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill, Bannon was not a formal aid to then-President Donald Trump. The committee has argued that this means executive privilege does not apply to him. President Joe Biden waived executive privilege claims over a number of key documents the committee was after in early October.
The committee is interested in any knowledge that Bannon may have about the riots that occurred. Notably, the day before the riots took place, he suggested on his War Room podcast that “All hell is going to break loose” on Jan. 6.
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Other associates of Trump have given mixed signals about how they intend to cooperate with the committee. Mark Meadows, former chief of staff to Trump, began to cooperate with the committee last week but said Tuesday that he is no longer cooperating.
