WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon “refused to follow the rules” in defying a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee and should be held accountable, a prosecutor said during opening arguments in his contempt of Congress trial.
“This case is about the defendant thumbing his nose at the orderly processes of our government,” Justice Department prosecutor Amanda Vaughn told a jury in a Washington courtroom Tuesday. “Ours is a nation of laws and our system doesn’t work when people think they are above them.”
Bannon, 68, the longtime adviser to former President Donald Trump, is on trial for two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress for defying requests to hand over documents and testify to the congressional committee investigating the US Capitol riot. If convicted, the charges each carry a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of as much as $100,000.
