The defense in Steve Bannon’s trial closed its case Thursday without calling witnesses and asked a judge to acquit the prominent former presidential adviser to Donald Trump in contempt of Congress on charges that he defied a subpoena from the committee investigating last year’s attack on US Capitol. Bannon, 68, pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges after refusing a subpoena by a House committee seeking testimony and documents as part of its investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, rampage of Trump supporters trying to overturn the election. of defeat in 2020. A day after the prosecution rested its case, having called only two witnesses over two days, David Schoen, one of Bannon’s lawyers, told US District Judge Carl Nichols that the defense would not testify. Closing arguments from both sides are expected Friday, with the jury beginning deliberations. Evan Corcoran, another of Bannon’s defense attorneys, filed a motion asking Nichols to acquit Bannon, saying prosecutors failed to prove their case — a claim the prosecution rejected. “We would ask the court to accept our acquittal. The government has rested its case and has not presented evidence on which a reasonable person could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Bannon is guilty of the contempt of Congress charges,” Corcoran told the judge. It is common for defense attorneys to make such motions at the end of a trial. They are rarely given. “The government has presented sufficient evidence,” District Attorney Amanda Vaughan told the judge. Schoen also told Nichols that “we were very much hindered from being able to present a defense” because of some of the judge’s pretrial rulings limiting the kinds of arguments Bannon could make to the jury. Nichols responded that some of his decisions were bound by legal precedent “that I don’t even think is right.” Bannon chose not to testify at trial because of the limits the judge placed on the defense, Schoen said. Bannon could not argue that he believed his communications with Trump were subject to a legal doctrine called executive privilege that can keep some presidential communications confidential. Nichols also prevented Bannon from claiming he was relying on a lawyer’s legal advice for refusing to comply. Bannon spoke only once throughout the trial. He said, “Yes, my honor,” when Nichols asked if he agreed not to testify. His main defense was that he believed the subpoena expiration dates were flexible and subject to negotiations between his attorney and the commission. His lawyers also said their defense was hampered by their inability to call lawmakers who are members of the House committee to testify. Christine Amerling, a senior committee official, testified Wednesday that Bannon ignored two subpoena deadlines, did not request extensions and offered an invalid rationale for his recusal — a claim by Trump that includes a legal doctrine called executive privilege that can hold confidential certain presidential communications . Corcoran told the judge Thursday that although Amerling testified that the subpoena dates were rigid, she was unable to articulate why those dates were chosen or who chose them. “No reasonable juror could find that Mr. Bannon refused to comply with dates that we now understand were open — they were in flux,” Corcoran told the judge. Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill and attacked police in a failed attempt to block congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, which Trump falsely claimed was the result of widespread election fraud . Bannon was a key adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and then served in 2017 as his White House chief strategist. Our Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
