Bannon contempt trial: After guilty verdict, Bannon rips Jan. 6 committee members

In asking the judge to acquit Bannon of the charges against him, defense attorney Evan Corcoran said of the prosecution, "They have not presented evidence upon which a reasonable person could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Bannon is guilty of the charges of contempt of Congress."

Regarding the deadline for Bannon to comply with the subpoena, Corcoran said that "it was clear" from the testimony of Jan. 6 committee staffer Kirstin Amerling that "the dates were in flux ... but even the dates in the subpoena, she was unable to identify why those dates were in the subpoena at all. She was unable to identify who put those dates in the subpoena. And that's a critical issue."

Corcoran also argued that the indictment claims Bannon didn't provide documents "by Oct. 18, 2021" -- but the deadline on the subpoena itself was Oct. 7, 2021, a different date.

"In our view, the return date is either the date on the subpoena, or it's open" -- all of which shows "this was an ongoing negotiation," Corcoran said.

In response, prosecutor Amanda Vaughn said, "The reasons for the dates are irrelevant."

"The dates are on the subpoena," Vaughn said. "The committee made clear in its letters to the defendant that those were the dates and that he had violated them, and the evidence is clear that he did not provide documents by Oct. 7 and did not come for his deposition on Oct. 14."

The government "has provided sufficient evidence" of his guilt, and letters from the time and posts to Bannon's social media "made clear" that he did not intend to comply, she said.

At the start of the third day of testimony Thursday morning, the defense team in the contempt case against Steve Bannon said in court that they do not plan to call any witnesses to the stand -- including Bannon himself -- and instead asked the judge to dismiss the case.

"The jury has now heard all the evidence it is going to hear," U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols subsequently announced.

The move came after the defense team asked the judge to acquit Bannon and rule that the government had not presented enough evidence to warrant continuing the trial.

In making its argument for acquittal, the defense said one of the government's two witnesses "didn't add much," so it's "really a one-witness case."

The judge said he wouldn't rule on the motion for acquittal yet.

For the second day in a row, Bannon blasted Jan. 6 committee Chairman Bennie Thompson on his way out of court at the end of the day.

"Does he really have COVID?" said Bannon of the chairman, baselessly questioning Thompson's diagnosis after he announced Tuesday that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

"What are the odds that a guy that is vaxxed, boosted and double boosted, following Dr. Fauci's recommendation -- what are the odds, on the very day this trial starts, he comes up with COVID?" Bannon said of Thompson's absence as a witness in his trial.

"Why is Bennie Thompson not here?" Bannon repeated.

-Laura Romero and Soo Rin Kim

After just two witnesses, the government rested its case against Steve Bannon.

FBI agent Stephen Hart, the prosecution's second witness, spent less than an hour on the stand.

Hart spent much of time testifying about Bannon's page on the social media platform Gettr, which Hart described as "similar to Twitter."

Prosecutor Molly Gaston showed that on Sept. 24, 2021, the day that Bannon's subpoena was received by his then-attorney, Robert Costello, Bannon's Gettr page posted a link to a Rolling Stone article with the words, "The Bannon Subpoena Is Just the Beginning. Congress's Jan. 6 Investigation is Going Big." Then on Oct. 8, 2021, the day after he was supposed to produce records to the Jan. 6 committee, Bannon's Gettr page posted a link to a Daily Mail article with the words, "Steve Bannon tells the January 6 select committee that he will NOT comply with their subpoena."

The Gettr post included images of Bannon, Trump, and a letter from Costello.

The materials prompted a debate over whether the posts were made by Bannon himself or by someone with access to his account, and whether those were Bannon's own words or the media outlets' words.

Gaston then had Hart read from the Daily Mail article, which quoted Bannon as telling the Daily Mail, "I stand with Trump and the Constitution."

"Those are his words," Gaston said of Bannon.

Hart also testified about a November 2021 videoconference he and prosecutors had with Costello after Costello requested the meeting to try to convince prosecutors not to pursue the contempt case against Bannon.

Hart testified that during that meeting, Costello told them that by Oct. 7, 2021, the deadline to produce documents, "they had not gathered any documents by that point." Costello also had no other reason for Bannon's refusal to comply other than executive privilege, Hart said.

Hart also testified that Costello, in the meeting, did not suggest they thought the deadlines were flexible, or that they were negotiating for a different date, or that Bannon would comply if the committee set different deadlines.

At one point, Corcoran tried to remind jurors that many lawmakers didn't support the resolution to find Bannon in contempt of Congress. On cross examination, he asked Hart about the investigative steps Hart took in this case, asking him, "Did you interview … the 200-plus members of Congress who voted not to refer Steven Bannon to the U.S. Attorney's office for contempt of Congress?"

Gaston objected, and the judge agreed, so Corcoran moved on.

Prosecutor Amanda Vaughn subsequently stood up and told the judge, "Your honor, the government rests."

Court will reconvene on Thursday morning.