Bannon Found Guilty on Both Counts of Contempt of Congress; Appeal Likely

Former White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon was found guilty Friday in federal court in Washington, DC, on both counts of contempt of Congress, after the jury deliberated for about three hours.

Bannon’s defense team, anticipating a possible guilty verdict, had said earlier in the week that they intended to appeal, given that Judge Carl Nichols barred many defenses, including legal challenges to the validity of the subpoenas of the January 6th committee, which he was accused of defying.

Bannon had served as the CEO of the Trump campaign in late 2016, steering it to victory against the odds. He later became a White House adviser, before leaving and returning for a brief stint at Breitbart News, where he had been executive chairman.

Bannon could face up to one year in prison for each count. He will be sentenced on October 21. Judge Nichols has yet to rule on a defense motion to dismiss the charges, which he could still do, notwithstanding the verdict by the jury, though it is unlikely.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.