Judge Narrows Down Steve Bannon’s Defense Options, Leaving Him Only One Way to Fend Off Contempt Charge

The judge presiding over Steve Bannon’s upcoming trial for contempt of Congress passed down a ruling that significantly limits which viable defense arguments he’ll be able to use when he appears in court.

Bannon is expected to go on trial a week from now after refusing to turn over documents and give testimony in compliance with a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Multiple reports say the former Donald Trump chief strategist will now agree to testify, though Justice Department prosectors argue this reversal 9 months later should be considered “irrelevant” to the contempt charges he’s about to face.

Judge Carl Nichols, who is overseeing the Bannon case, issued a ruling on Monday stating there wouldn’t be a delay in his trial set for July 18th. CNN’s Jessica Schneider reported on the ruling and explained how it leaves Bannon with no defense arguments as far as citing his own lawyers, or referring to executive privilege.

“The judge has just ruled that the government here only needs to prove that Steve Bannon willfully and deliberately defied that subpoena back in October of last year,” Schneider said. “The judge is saying that Steve Bannon cannot bring in extraneous information. He can’t say that he was relying on the advice of counsel when he defied that subpoena. He can’t say he was relying on claims of executive privilege asserted by then-President Trump.”

Schneider called this a “hard line against Steve Bannon” as she explained that Nichols left Bannon with the option of arguing that he misunderstood the dates for complying with the subpoena. She added that the government only has to prove Bannon deliberately refused to comply with the subpoena in order to make its case.

Watch above, via CNN.