Former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon
(Picture: REUTERS)Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon felt “above the law” by defying a legal summons to testify about last year’s riot at the US Capitol, prosecutors said at the start of his trial.
Federal prosecutor Amanda Vaughn told jurors on Tuesday that the subpoena issued last September "wasn’t optional, it wasn’t a request and it wasn’t an invitation. It was mandatory."
She added: "The defendant decided he was above the law. That’s why we’re here today."
Bannon, 68, has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress.
Vaughn said the committee had reason to believe Bannon might have information about the events leading up to the January 6 riot in 2021.
Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol and attacked police in a failed effort to block formal congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
A witness for US federal prosecutors is expected to testify on Wednesday that former President Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon defied a subpoena from the congressional probe into the Capitol riot.
Federal prosecutors are expected to continue questioning witness Kristin Amerling, the chief counsel to the Democratic-led House of Representatives select committee on January 6.
They told the jury on Tuesday that Bannon missed two key deadlines in October 2021 to provide documents and testimony.
However, Bannon’s attorney Evan Corcoran argued his client was innocent of the charges in his opening statement.
Corcoran said Bannon consulted with his attorney Robert Costello about how to respond when he received the subpoena in September.
Bannon believed the subpoena’s deadlines were not fixed and that negotiations between the parties would continue, the defence lawyer told the jury.
Corcoran said committee staff and lawyers for proposed witnesses almost always negotiate - and witnesses often appear at a date later than the one specified in a subpoena.
