WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Wednesday failed to prosecute Steve Bannon ahead of his impending criminal trial, preventing former President Donald Trump’s adviser from telling jurors he was relying on lawyers’ advice when he defied Cogreau. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols prevented Bannon’s attorneys from making an argument known as “defense counsel” during the trial, which is set to begin on July 18. Bannon was charged in November with two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena issued by a House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters. Bannon refused to provide the requested testimony or documents, citing Trump’s claim – which has been rejected by other courts – that the material is protected by a legal doctrine called executive privilege. Defending the “advocate’s advice” can be used to defeat criminal charges. Defendants citing the defense argue that they relied in good faith on the lawyers’ advice and therefore did not intend to break the law. Bannon’s lawyers told a court in February that this defense was a key part of their case. “The government claims Mr Bannon committed a crime,” Bannon’s defense attorneys said in a statement. “Every act they intend to rely on as evidence was about Mr Bannon’s reliance on legal advice.” Bannon’s lawyers hope to argue that he relied on the legal advice of Robert Costello’s attorney, who previously informed him that he could not file or file with the commission unless he mediated with Trump or persuaded a federal court to agree to waive the executive privilege. Costello, who still represents Bannon, cited a number of previous legal opinions released by the Justice Department’s Legal Advice Bureau, which found that current and former executives were immune from congressional summonses. Costello and his co-counsel M. Evan Corcoran did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the judge’s decision. Bannon, a prominent member of the right-wing media, was the architect of Trump’s 2016 presidential victory and served as White House Chief of Staff in 2017. The former Goldman Sachs Group right-wing Navy banker and veteran candidates in the United States and abroad. (Report by Jan Wolfe in Washington; Edited by Will Dunham and Scott Malone)
