Appeals court upholds Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction

Reporting cited here

1. charged

   A federal grand jury charged Bannon with two counts under 2 U.S.C. § 192 after he defaulted on a September 23 subpoena: one count for documents and one for deposition testimony. The indictment recited his private-citizen status and January 5 activities. Charging did not establish guilt; the later jury conviction and appellate affirmance supplied that adjudication.

   May 10, 2024 appellate affirmance

   Grand jury indicts Bannon for refusing January 6 committee records and testimony · Convicted, sentence served, conviction affirmed on appeal

2. documented

   The D.C. Circuit affirmed Bannon's two contempt-of-Congress convictions. It held that circuit precedent barred good-faith reliance on executive privilege as a defense to willful default and rejected his challenges to the committee and trial rulings. Bannon's lawyers had argued that Trump's privilege position and the committee's structure made noncompliance lawful; the panel rejected those arguments.

   Appellate result, defenses, government response, and panel reasoning

   D.C. Circuit unanimously affirms Bannon's contempt convictions · Convictions affirmed; Bannon later served four months