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Steve Bannon Wants To Delay Trial Until Near 2022 Election — Judge Denies, Sets Date Next Summer

December 7, 2021

Steve Bannon's legal representation has asked for his trial date for defying a Congressional subpoena to be delayed nearly until the midterm elections in 2022. However, a judge has ruled that this is too far out, and set a slightly closer date: July 18th.

Raw Story reports that the government asked for the trial to start in April, but Bannon's defense argued that he'd need much more time to prepare and asked for an October date — only a few short weeks before the November 2022 midterm elections. The court compromised with a date in July.

The House Select Committee convened to investigate the January 6th attack has subpoenaed a long list of Donald Trump's allies, and seeks to find out which, if any, people within the White House and Trump circle knew about the attack in advance or had any role in the planning of it. Trump is fighting hard to keep documents out of the committee's hands, and Bannon was the first insider — but not the last — to defy a Congressional subpoena. Despite a promise to cooperate, Mark Meadows, Trump's former Chief of Staff, is also now saying that he he won't testify because he doesn't feel the committee is giving proper respect for what he thinks can be hidden under executive privilege.

However,the committee isn't pulling punches, and has already expressed that they won't allow the Trump team to "run out the clock" and dodge culpability by stretching the process out until the midterms can be used to flip Congress and take control out of Democrats' hands.

Still, the July date is concerning for many, and Ted Lieu (D-CA) has expressed that the committee should be allowed to enforce their own subpoenas, saying an order to appear is "meaningless if witnesses can drag out the time line."

[Ted Lieu @tedlieu Tweeted "RIDICULOUS delay for Steve Bannon. The House needs to pass ASAP legislation by @RepDean @RepCicilline @RepJoeNeguse @RepValDemings @RepRaskin and me to execute Congress' inherent contempt power.

Congressional subpoenas are meaningless if witnesses can drag out the time line."]