Bannon trial live updates: Closing arguments get underway

Bannon trial live updates: Closing arguments get underway
Bannon trial live updates: Closing arguments get underway
Win McNamee/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Steve Bannon, who served as former President Donald Trump’s chief strategist before departing the White House in August 2017, is on trial for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Bannon was subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 panel for records and testimony in September of last year.

After the House of Representatives voted to hold him in contempt for defying the subpoena, the Justice Department in November charged Bannon with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, setting up this week’s trial.

Here is how the news is developing. All times are Eastern:

Jul 22, 10:04 AM EDT
Closing arguments get underway

Closing arguments are underway, after Judge Nichols gave the jury instructions for deliberations.

Regarding Bannon’s decision not to testify in the case, Nichols specifically told the jury: “You must not hold this decision against him, and it would be improper to speculate as to the reasons.”

“You must not assume the defendant is guilty because he chose not to testify,” the judge said.

The government will first make its closing argument, then the defense will make its closing argument, followed by a shorter rebuttal by the government.

Jul 22, 9:50 AM EDT
Defense concerned about impact of Jan. 6 hearing as trial resumes

As court resumed Friday morning for expected closing arguments, Bannon’s defense team filed a “notice” to Judge Carl Nichols expressing concern over last night’s prime-time Jan. 6 committee hearing and its “possible impact on the jury,” calling a segment in the hearing “highly inflammatory.”

The notice says that last night’s hearing “included a feature segment on the Defendant Stephen K. Bannon of a particularly inflammatory nature.” It’s referring to audio of Bannon that was played at about 10:38 p.m. ET in which Bannon can be heard days before the 2020 presidential election saying that even if Trump loses the election, “Trump will declare victory,” and there will be a “firestorm.”

Bannon’s defense team asked the judge to ask jurors whether they watched or heard about that segment, or the hearing in general.

“[T]here should be some inquiry, while assuring the jurors of the importance of candor and that they will not suffer negative consequences if they acknowledge exposure to the broadcast or its subject,” the team’s filing said.

“The nature and substance of the segment present a significant cause for concern regarding possible prejudice to Mr. Bannon’s constitutional fair trial rights and right to a jury trial if a juror viewed the segment of was made aware of it in some manner,” it said.

The jury has been brought into the courtroom for today’s proceedings, and so far there has been no mention of the defense team’s latest filing.

News coverage of the Jan. 6 committee has been an ongoing concern for both the defense team and prosecutors throughout this case. At the request of prosecutors, Judge Nichols reminded the jury not to watch or read about last night’s hearing before he sent the jury home last night.

Jul 21, 4:16 PM EDT
Leaving court, Bannon says he’s testified ‘more than anybody else’ in administration

Leaving the courthouse after the day in court, Bannon told reporters that — despite his decision not to testify in his trial on the advice of counsel — he has no compunction about testifying.

“Make sure everybody understands, of any person in the Trump administration, Stephen K. Bannon has testified,” Bannon said, referring to his earlier testimony as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and a parallel investigation by the House Intelligence Committee at the time.

“Thirty hours in the Mueller Commission … 20 hours in front of the House Intelligence Committee … I think over 50 hours of testimony,” Bannon said.

“Every single time, more than anybody else in the Trump administration,” he said.

Jul 21, 3:05 PM EDT
Defense rests its case after telling judge they were ‘stymied’

The defense has rested its case and the jury has been sent home for the day, with closing arguments and jury instructions planned for Friday morning.

“Your honor, the defense rests,” Bannon’s attorney Evan Corcoran said before the jury was dismissed for the day.

The move comes after defense attorney David Schoen told Judge Carl Nichols that Bannon was never able to mount a full defense in the trial because the judge limited the types of arguments the defense could make, and because the defense had been unable to question members of the Jan. 6 committee rather than just a staffer.

The defense especially wanted to question committee chairman Bennie Thompson, who signed the subpoena at issue and then referred the case to the Justice Department for prosecution.

“Our view is we’ve been badly stymied in bringing a defense in this case,” Schoen said. Bannon, he said, has been “handcuffed and not able to explain his story of the case.”

Nichols disputed the characterization, telling Schoen that he has simply been following the law in deciding what should be allowed at trial.

Jul 21, 12:49 PM EDT
Attorneys argue over whether subpoena dates were ‘in flux’

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.

Jul 21, 12:13 PM EDT
Defense says no witnesses, including Bannon, will take the stand

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.

Jul 20, 6:18 PM EDT
Bannon again rails at Thompson as he leaves courthouse

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, who 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

Jul 20, 5:55 PM EDT
FBI agent details Bannon’s social posts about subpoena before government rests its case

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.

Jul 20, 4:39 PM EDT
Defense says Bannon was in ongoing negotiations with committee

As his cross-examination of Jan. 6 committee staffer Kirstin Amerling wrapped up, defense attorney Evan Corcoran continued to frame Bannon’s noncompliance with the subpoena as happening at a time when Bannon’s attorney was still in negotiations with the committee.

Amerling, however, testified that Bannon wasn’t in negotiations because there was nothing to negotiate — Trump hadn’t actually asserted executive privilege, Amerling said, so there was no outstanding issue to resolve. And she said that the committee had made clear to Bannon repeatedly that there were no legal grounds for his refusal to turn over documents and testify before the committee.

Corcoran showed the jury the letter that Trump sent to Bannon on July 9, 2022 — just two weeks ago — in which Trump said he would waive executive privilege so Bannon could testify before the committee. He also displayed the letter that Bannon’s former attorney, Robert Costello, sent the committee on the same day saying that Bannon was now willing to testify in a public hearing.

But Amerling then read aloud from the letter that the committee sent to Costello in response, noting that Bannon’s latest offer “does not change the fact that Mr. Bannon failed to follow [proper] process and failed to comply with the Select Committee’s subpoena prior to the House referral of the contempt resolution concerning Mr. Bannon’s defiance of the subpoena.”

Prosecutor Amanda Vaughn noted that before two weeks ago, Bannon never offered to comply with the subpoena, even after being told repeatedly by the committee last year that his claims had no basis in law and that he could face prosecution; even after he was found in contempt of Congress in October last year; even after he was criminally charged a month later for contempt of Congress; and even after a lawsuit related to executive privilege had been resolved by the Supreme Court six months ago.

Amerling testified that had Bannon complied with the subpoena in time, the committee would have had “at least nine months of additional time” to review the information, and now there are “five or so months” left of the committee.

“So as opposed to having 14 in total, the committee only now has five?” Corcoran asked.

“That’s correct,” said Amerling.

Jul 20, 3:48 PM EDT
Defense argues Bannon was constrained by questions over executive privilege

In the defense’s ongoing cross examination of Jan. 6 committee staffer Kirstin Amerling, attorney Evan Corcoran continued to stress how Bannon was prevented from testifying due to the right of executive privilege that protects confidential communication with members of the executive branch.

But Amerling testified that there are two main issues with such a claim.

First, she said, some of what the subpoena requested “had nothing to do with communication with the former president” and “could not possibly be reached by executive privilege” — especially Bannon’s communications with campaign advisers, members of Congress and other private parties, as well as information related to Bannon’s podcast, she testified.

In addition, despite what others may have said, “The president had not formally or informally invoked executive privilege,” Amerling said. “It hadn’t been invoked.”

Yet Bannon still refused to comply with the subpoena, despite having no legal grounds to do so, she said.

Amerling reiterated that by the time the committee met to decide whether to pursue contempt charges, “there had been extensive back-and-forth already between the select committee and the defendant’s attorney about the issue of executive privilege, and the select committee had made its position clear.”

Corcoran also argued that Bannon didn’t comply with the subpoena right away because he expected the deadline would ultimately change, due to the fact that it’s common for subpoena deadlines to shift.

Amerling, however, testified that Bannon’s situation was different.

“When witnesses are cooperating with the committee and indicate they are willing to provide testimony, it is not unusual to have some back-and-forth about the dates that they will appear,” she said. However, she said, “it is very unusual for witnesses who receive a subpoena to say outright they will not comply.”

In his questions, Corcoran also suggested that Amerling might be a biased witness, noting that she had donated to Democratic causes in the past, and that she is a member of the same book club as one of the prosecutors in the case, Molly Gaston.

“So you’re in a book club with the prosecutor in this case?” Corcoran asked.

“We are,” Amerling replied.

Amerling said that it had been some time — perhaps as much as a year or more — since she and Gaston both attended a meeting of the club. But she conceded that, with the types of people who are in the book club, it was “not unusual that we would talk about politics in some way or another.”

Jul 20, 12:55 PM EDT
Defense attorney presses Jan. 6 staffer on timing of subpoena deadline

Under cross-examination from Bannon defense attorney Evan Corcoran, House Jan. 6 committee senior staffer Kristin Amerling was pressed on why the committee set the deadlines it did for Bannon to comply with the subpoena — especially since “the select committee is still receiving and reviewing documents” now, Corcoran said.

Corcoran pressed Amerling over who specifically decided that Bannon should have to produce documents by 10 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2021, and who specifically decided that Bannon should have to appear for a deposition on Oct. 14, 2021.

Amerling said that the “process” of drafting the subpoena involved many people, including senior staff like herself, but it was all ultimately approved by committee Chairman Bennie Thompson.

“To the best of my recollection, because of the multiple roles that we understood Mr. Bannon potentially had with respect to the events of Jan. 6, at the time that we put the subpoena together, there was a general interest in obtaining information from him expeditiously, because we believed this information could potentially lead us to other relevant witnesses or other relevant documents,” Amerling said. “There was general interest in including deadlines that required expeditious response.”

“The committee authorization is just through the end of this year,” so it is operating under “a very tight timeframe,” she said.

Corcoran also said he wanted to made clear to the jury that, as he put it, “in this case, there is no allegation that Steve Bannon was involved in the attack” on the Capitol.

Earlier, Amerling testified that the committee tried to give Bannon “an opportunity” to explain his “misconduct” in ignoring the subpoena and to provide “information that might shed light on his misconduct, such as he might have been confused” about the subpoena — but Bannon never presented any such explanation or information before he was found in contempt, she said.

Jul 20, 11:17 AM EDT
Jan. 6 staffer says panel ‘rejected the basis’ for Bannon’s privilege claim

Kristin Amerling, a senior staffer on the House Jan. 6 committee, returned to the stand to continue her testimony from Tuesday. She testified that Bannon was clearly informed that any claims of privilege were rejected by the committee, and that his non-compliance “would force” the committee to refer the matter to the Justice Department for prosecution.

She said the subpoena issued to Bannon indicated he was “required to produce” records encompassing 17 specific categories, including records related to the Jan. 6 rally near the White House, his communications with Trump allies and several right-wing groups, his communications with Republican lawmakers, and information related to his “War Room” podcast.

The committee was seeking to understand “the relationships or potential relationships between different individuals and organizations that played a role in Jan. 6,” Amerling said. “We wanted to ask him what he knew.”

Asked by prosecutor Amanda Vaughn if Bannon provided any records to the committee by the deadline of 10 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2021, Amerling replied, “He did not.”

“Did the committee get anything more than radio silence by 10 a.m. on Oct. 7?” Vaughn asked.

“No,” said Amerling.

Amerling said that in a correspondence she received that day at about 5 p.m. — after the deadline had passed — Bannon’s attorney at the time, Robert Costello, claimed that Trump had “announced his intention to assert” executive privilege, which Costello said at the time rendered Bannon “unable to respond” to the subpoena “until these issues are resolved.”

But the next day, Amerling recalled on the stand, she sent Costello a letter from Jan. 6 committee chairman Bennie Thompson, “explaining that the committee rejected the basis that he had offered for refusing to comply.”

“Did the letter also tell the defendant he still had to comply?” Vaughn asked Amerling.

“Yes, it did.” Amerling said.

“Did the letter warn the defendant what might happen if he failed to comply with the subpoena?” Vaughn asked.

“Yes, it did,” said Amerling.

The letter was “establishing a clear record of the committee’s views, making sure the defendant was aware of that,” Amerling testified.

Jul 20, 10:06 AM EDT
Judge won’t let trial become ‘political circus,’ he says

Federal prosecutors in Steve Bannon’s contempt trial raised concerns with the judge that Bannon’s team has been suggesting to the jury that this is a “politically motivated prosecution” before the second day of testimony got underway Wednesday morning.

Before the jury was brought in, prosecutor Amanda Vaughn asked U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols to make sure the jury “doesn’t hear one more word about this case being” politically motivated, after she said the defense’s opening statement Tuesday had “clear implications” that the defense was making that claim.

Nichols had barred such arguments from the trial.

In response, defense attorney Evan Corcoran defended his opening statement, saying it “was clearly on the line.”

Nichols then made it clear that during trial, the defense team may ask witnesses questions about whether they themselves may be biased — “but may not ask questions about whether someone else was biased in an action they took outside this courtroom.”

“I do not intend for this to become a political case, a political circus,” Nichols said.

Jul 19, 6:14 PM EDT
Bannon, outside courtroom, criticizes Jan. 6 panel

Speaking to reporters after the first full day in court, Bannon blasted members of the Jan. 6 committee and House Democrats for not showing up as witnesses in his trial.

“Where is Bennie Thompson?” asked Bannon regarding the Jan. 6 committee chairman. “He’s made it a crime, not a civil charge … have the guts and the courage to show up here and say exactly why it’s a crime.”

“I will promise you one thing when the Republicans that are sweeping to victory on Nov. 8 — starting in January, you’re going to get a real committee,” Bannon said. “We’re going to get a real committee with a ranking member who will be a Democrat … and this will be run
appropriately and the American people will get the full story.”

-Laura Romero and Soo Rin Kim

Jul 19, 5:23 PM EDT
A subpoena isn’t voluntary, says prosecution witness

The first witness for the prosecution, Kristin Amerling of the Jan. 6 committee, testified that a subpoena is not voluntary.

Amerling, the Jan. 6 panel’s deputy staff director and chief counsel, read aloud the congressional resolution creating the committee and explained that the committee’s role is to recommend “corrective measures” to prevent future attacks like the one on Jan. 6.

“Is a subpoena voluntary in any way?” asked prosecutor Amanda Vaughn.

“No,” Amerling replied.

Amerling also discussed how important it is to get information in a timely manner because the committee’s authority runs out at the end of the year. “There is an urgency to the focus of the Select Committee’s work … we have a limited amount of time in which to gather information,” she said.

Amerling noted that Bannon was subpoenaed pretty early on in the committee’s investigation.

She said the committee subpoenaed Bannon in particular because public accounts indicated that Bannon tried to persuade the public that the 2020 election was “illegitimate”; that on his podcast the day before Jan. 6 he made statements “including that all hell was going to break loose, that suggested he might have some advance knowledge of the events of Jan. 6”; that he was involved in discussions with White House officials, including Trump himself, relating to “strategies surrounding the events of Jan. 6”; and that he had been involved in discussions in the days leading up to Jan. 6 with “private parties who had gathered in the Willard hotel in Washington, D.C., reportedly to discuss strategies around efforts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power or overturning the election results.”

“Is that something that would have been relevant to the committee’s investigation?” Vaughn asked.

“Yes, because the Select Committee was tasked with trying to understand what happened on Jan. 6, and why,” Amerling replied.

Amerling will be back on the stand Wednesday morning when the trial resumes.

Jul 19, 3:55 PM EDT
Defense tells jury ‘there was no ignoring the subpoena’

Bannon’s defense attorney Matt “Evan” Corcoran said in his opening statement that “no one ignored the subpoena” issued to Bannon, and that “there was direct engagement by Bob Costello,” Bannon’s attorney, with the House committee, specifically committee staffer Kristin Amerling.

He said Costello “immediately” communicated to the committee that there was an objection to the subpoena, “and that Steve Bannon could not appear and that he could not provide documents.”

“So there was no ignoring the subpoena,” Corcoran said. What followed was “a considerable back and forth” between Amerling and Costello — “they did what two lawyers do, they negotiated.”

Corcoran said, “the government wants you to believe … that Mr. Bannon committed a crime by not showing up to a congressional hearing room … but the evidence is going to be crystal clear no one, no one believed Mr. Bannon was going to appear on Oct. 14, 2021,” and the reasons he couldn’t appear had been articulated to the committee.

Corcoran told the jury that the government has to prove beyond a reasonable that Steve Bannon willfully defaulted when he didn’t appear for the deposition on Oct. 14, 2021 — “but you’ll find from the evidence that that date on the subpoena was the subject of ongoing discussions” and it was not “fixed.”

In addition, Corcoran told jurors, you will hear that “almost every single one” of the witnesses subpoenaed led to negotiations between committee staff and lawyers, and often the appearance would be at a later date than what was on the subpoena.

Corcoran also argued that the prosecution may have been infected by politics, telling the jury that with each document or each statement provided at trial, they should ask themselves: “Is this piece of evidence affected by politics?”

Jul 19, 3:31 PM EDT
Prosecutors say Bannon’s failure to comply was deliberate

Continuing her opening statement, federal prosecutor Amanda Vaughn told the jury that the subpoena to Bannon directed him to provide documents by the morning of Oct. 7, 2021, and to appear for a deposition the morning of Oct. 14, 2021 — but instead he had an attorney, Robert Costello, send a letter to the committee informing the committee that he would not comply “in any way,” she said.

“The excuse the defendant gave for not complying” was the claim that “a privilege” meant he didn’t have to turn over certain information, Vaughn said. “[But] it’s not up to the defendant or anyone else to decide if he can ignore the [request] based on a privilege, it’s up to the committee.”

And, said Vaughn, the committee clearly told Bannon that “your privilege does not get you out of this one, you have to provide documents, and you have to come to your deposition.” And importantly, she said, the committee told Bannon that “a refusal to comply” could result in criminal prosecution.

“You will see, the defendant’s failure to comply was deliberate here,” Vaughn told the jury. “The only verdict that is supported by the evidence here: that the defendant showed his contempt for the U.S. Congress, and that he’s guilty.”

Jul 19, 2:58 PM EDT
Prosecution begins opening statements

Federal prosecutor Amanda Vaughn began opening statements by saying, “In September of last year, Congress needed information from the defendant, Steve Bannon. … Congress needed to know what the defendant knew about the events of Jan. 6, 2021. … Congress had gotten information that the defendant might have some details about the events leading up to that day and what occurred that day.”

So, Vaughn told the jury, Congress gave Bannon a subpoena “that mandated” he provide any information he might have.

“Congress was entitled to the information it sought, it wasn’t optional,” Vaughn said. “But as you will learn in this trial, the defendant refused to hand over the information he might have.”

Vaughn said Bannon ignored “multiple warnings” that he could face criminal prosecution for refusing to comply with the subpoena and for preventing the government from getting “important information.”

“The defendant decided he was above the law and decided he didn’t need to follow the government’s orders,” she said.

Jul 19, 2:51 PM EDT
Judge instructs jury of the burden of proof

Prior to opening statements, the judge made clear to the jury that the Justice Department has the burden to prove four distinct elements “beyond a reasonable doubt”:

(1) that Bannon was in fact subpoenaed for testimony and/or documents;

(2) that the testimony and/or documents were “pertinent” to the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation;

(3) that Bannon “failed to comply or refused to comply” with the subpoena;

(4) that the “failure or refusal to comply was willful.”

Jul 19, 2:44 PM EDT
Jury sworn in after judge denies continuance

A 14-member jury has been sworn in for the contempt trial of ex-Trump strategist Steve Bannon.

Of the 14 jurors, nine are men and five are women.

The swearing-in of the jury comes after U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols denied the defense’s request for a one-month delay of the trial, which attorneys for Bannon argued was necessary due to a “seismic shift in the understanding of the parties” of what the government’s evidence will be.

“We have a jury that is just about picked,” Nichols said in denying the request for a one-month continuance.

One of the jurors, a man who works for an appliance company, said Monday during jury selection that he watched the first Jan. 6 committee hearing and believes the committee is “trying to find the truth about what happened” on Jan. 6.

Another juror, a man who works as a maintenance manager for the Washington, D.C., Parks and Recreation department, said he believes what happened on Jan. 6 “doesn’t make sense.”

Another juror, a woman who works as a photographer for NASA, said “a lot” of her “photographer friends were at the Capitol” on Jan. 6, and she has watched some of the Jan. 6 hearings on the news.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bannon trial live updates: Bannon chose ‘allegiance’ to Trump over the law, prosecutor says

Bannon trial live updates: Closing arguments get underway
Bannon trial live updates: Closing arguments get underway
Win McNamee/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Steve Bannon, who served as former President Donald Trump’s chief strategist before departing the White House in August 2017, is on trial for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Bannon was subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 panel for records and testimony in September of last year.

After the House of Representatives voted to hold him in contempt for defying the subpoena, the Justice Department in November charged Bannon with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, setting up this week’s trial.

Here is how the news is developing. All times are Eastern:

Jul 22, 11:46 AM EDT
Defense tells jury the government’s case ‘should give you pause’

Defense attorney Evan Corcoran began his closing argument by saying, “None of us will soon forget Jan. 6, 2021. It’s part of our collective memory.”

“But there isn’t evidence in this case that Steve Bannon was involved at all,” he said. “Steve Bannon is innocent of the crimes with which he’s charged.”

Telling the jury that there are many “things” that should “give you pause,” Corcoran said there is “reason to doubt the government’s case.”

He made several claims suggesting that the subpoena may not be valid for procedural reasons.

Corcoran said that Jan. 6 committee staffer Kristin Amerling testified that to her knowledge, Bannon, in conjunction with his subpoena, wasn’t provided a certain section of the House resolution laying out congressional rules, as required by congressional regulations. “That’s a reason for you to doubt the prosecution’s case. You must give Steve Bannon the benefit of the doubt,” Corcoran said.

The judge, however, interrupted Corcoran and told him to tie his remark to “an issue that’s actually been submitted” during trial — and when the prosecution raised an objection to Corcoran’s remarks, he moved on.

Corcoran then noted that Amerling had testified that a committee subpoena is only valid if it’s signed by the committee’s chairman. He then showed the jury Jan. 6 committee chairman Bennie Thompson’s signature on letters to then-Bannon attorney Robert Costello, comparing it to Thompson’s signature on the subpoena.

“That is the signature on the subpoena, and you could ask yourself if one of those things is different than the other. Because that could be a doubt as to the government’s case, a reasonable doubt as to [whether] chairman Thompson signed the subpoena,” Corcoran said.

At that point, the judge called for a private sidebar again, and after that Corcoran moved on.

Jul 22, 10:57 AM EDT
Bannon chose ‘allegiance’ to Trump over the law, prosecutor says

During her closing argument, prosecutor Molly Gaston reminded the jury that the judge had told them that to convict Bannon, they must find that he not only failed to comply with the subpoena, but that he did so “willfully” — not to mean that he did it for an “evil or bad purpose,” but that the failure was “deliberate and intentional” and not the result of “inadvertence, accident or mistake.”

Gaston insisted that Bannon’s decision was “deliberate” and “willful” and that, “the reason for that choice does not matter.”

“It does not matter if he refused to comply because his lawyers advised him so,” or because he believed a privilege was involved, she said. “As long as the defendant knew that he had been commanded by the subpoena to produce documents and give testimony,” then “his belief that he had a good excuse not to comply does not matter. That is not a defense for contempt.”

She said this may be “strict,” but “in order for the government to function, citizens need to follow the rules. … It is how we all live together in society.”

“The defendant chose allegiance to Donald Trump over compliance with the law,” Gaston said.

Regarding claims by the defense that Bannon thought the dates “in black and white on the face of that document were not hard deadlines,” Gaston said: “Please don’t fall for that.”

“We are here because the defendant had contempt for Congress,” she said. “This is a situation in which the name of the crime tells you everything you need to know: contempt.”

Referring to Bannon’s defense attorney, Gaston said that “Mr. Corcoran has tried to tell you this case is about politics, but the only person making this case about politics is the defendant, and he is doing it to distract and confuse you. Don’t let him.”

“There is nothing political about enforcing the law against someone who, like the defendant, flouts it,” she said.

“The defendant chose defiance,” Gaston said. “Find him guilty.”

Jul 22, 10:34 AM EDT
Prosecutor tells jury Bannon ‘didn’t show up’

Prosecutor Molly Gaston began closing arguments by telling the jury, “This case is not complicated, but it is important.”

“This is simply a case about a man — that man, Steve Bannon — who didn’t show up,” she said. “Why didn’t he show up? He didn’t show up because he did not want to, because he did not want to provide the Jan. 6 committee with documents, he did not want to answers its questions, and when it really comes down to it, he did not want to recognize Congress’ authority or play by the government’s rules.”

“So why is this case important?” Gaston said. “It is important because our government only works if people show up. It only works if people play by the rules. And it only works if people are held accountable when they do not. And in this case, when the defendant deliberately chose to defy a congressional subpoena, that was a crime.”

Calling Jan. 6 “a dark day in our nation’s history” that included “violence against law enforcement” and efforts to disrupt the “peaceful transfer of power,” Gaston said Congress created the Jan. 6 committee to “make sense of it” and to “make sure that it never happens again.”

Regarding the subpoena that the committee sent Bannon, she said, “This document is not hard to understand. It tells the defendant what he is required to do, and when he is required to do it.”

“The defendant did not produce a single document,” Gaston said. “Was that a mistake? No, that was intentional.”

She recited the back-and-forth correspondence between Bannon’s then-lawyer, Robert Costello, and the committee, in which Bannon claimed that executive privilege “completely exempted him” and the committee repeatedly said that it “rejected” that claim and warned Bannon that he could face prosecution for contempt of Congress.

She noted that the privilege that Bannon claimed “could not possibly cover everything” that the committee was asking for, and that Bannon “made clear” in a social media post that “he was defying the committee to — quote — ‘stand with Trump.'”

“This is the defendant celebrating his defiance,” Gaston said. “And this shows the defendant knew that the subpoena required him to produce documents.”

“This was not a mistake,” Gaston said, telling the jury “he ignored” the subpoena.

Jul 22, 10:04 AM EDT
Closing arguments get underway

Closing arguments are underway, after Judge Nichols gave the jury instructions for deliberations.

Regarding Bannon’s decision not to testify in the case, Nichols specifically told the jury: “You must not hold this decision against him, and it would be improper to speculate as to the reasons.”

“You must not assume the defendant is guilty because he chose not to testify,” the judge said.

The government will first make its closing argument, then the defense will make its closing argument, followed by a shorter rebuttal by the government.

Jul 22, 9:50 AM EDT
Defense concerned about impact of Jan. 6 hearing as trial resumes

As court resumed Friday morning for expected closing arguments, Bannon’s defense team filed a “notice” to Judge Carl Nichols expressing concern over last night’s prime-time Jan. 6 committee hearing and its “possible impact on the jury,” calling a segment in the hearing “highly inflammatory.”

The notice says that last night’s hearing “included a feature segment on the Defendant Stephen K. Bannon of a particularly inflammatory nature.” It’s referring to audio of Bannon that was played at about 10:38 p.m. ET in which Bannon can be heard days before the 2020 presidential election saying that even if Trump loses the election, “Trump will declare victory,” and there will be a “firestorm.”

Bannon’s defense team asked the judge to ask jurors whether they watched or heard about that segment, or the hearing in general.

“[T]here should be some inquiry, while assuring the jurors of the importance of candor and that they will not suffer negative consequences if they acknowledge exposure to the broadcast or its subject,” the team’s filing said.

“The nature and substance of the segment present a significant cause for concern regarding possible prejudice to Mr. Bannon’s constitutional fair trial rights and right to a jury trial if a juror viewed the segment of was made aware of it in some manner,” it said.

The jury has been brought into the courtroom for today’s proceedings, and so far there has been no mention of the defense team’s latest filing.

News coverage of the Jan. 6 committee has been an ongoing concern for both the defense team and prosecutors throughout this case. At the request of prosecutors, Judge Nichols reminded the jury not to watch or read about last night’s hearing before he sent the jury home last night.

Jul 21, 4:16 PM EDT
Leaving court, Bannon says he’s testified ‘more than anybody else’ in administration

Leaving the courthouse after the day in court, Bannon told reporters that — despite his decision not to testify in his trial on the advice of counsel — he has no compunction about testifying.

“Make sure everybody understands, of any person in the Trump administration, Stephen K. Bannon has testified,” Bannon said, referring to his earlier testimony as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and a parallel investigation by the House Intelligence Committee at the time.

“Thirty hours in the Mueller Commission … 20 hours in front of the House Intelligence Committee … I think over 50 hours of testimony,” Bannon said.

“Every single time, more than anybody else in the Trump administration,” he said.

Jul 21, 3:05 PM EDT
Defense rests its case after telling judge they were ‘stymied’

The defense has rested its case and the jury has been sent home for the day, with closing arguments and jury instructions planned for Friday morning.

“Your honor, the defense rests,” Bannon’s attorney Evan Corcoran said before the jury was dismissed for the day.

The move comes after defense attorney David Schoen told Judge Carl Nichols that Bannon was never able to mount a full defense in the trial because the judge limited the types of arguments the defense could make, and because the defense had been unable to question members of the Jan. 6 committee rather than just a staffer.

The defense especially wanted to question committee chairman Bennie Thompson, who signed the subpoena at issue and then referred the case to the Justice Department for prosecution.

“Our view is we’ve been badly stymied in bringing a defense in this case,” Schoen said. Bannon, he said, has been “handcuffed and not able to explain his story of the case.”

Nichols disputed the characterization, telling Schoen that he has simply been following the law in deciding what should be allowed at trial.

Jul 21, 12:49 PM EDT
Attorneys argue over whether subpoena dates were ‘in flux’

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.

Jul 21, 12:13 PM EDT
Defense says no witnesses, including Bannon, will take the stand

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.

Jul 20, 6:18 PM EDT
Bannon again rails at Thompson as he leaves courthouse

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, who 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

Jul 20, 5:55 PM EDT
FBI agent details Bannon’s social posts about subpoena before government rests its case

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.

Jul 20, 4:39 PM EDT
Defense says Bannon was in ongoing negotiations with committee

As his cross-examination of Jan. 6 committee staffer Kirstin Amerling wrapped up, defense attorney Evan Corcoran continued to frame Bannon’s noncompliance with the subpoena as happening at a time when Bannon’s attorney was still in negotiations with the committee.

Amerling, however, testified that Bannon wasn’t in negotiations because there was nothing to negotiate — Trump hadn’t actually asserted executive privilege, Amerling said, so there was no outstanding issue to resolve. And she said that the committee had made clear to Bannon repeatedly that there were no legal grounds for his refusal to turn over documents and testify before the committee.

Corcoran showed the jury the letter that Trump sent to Bannon on July 9, 2022 — just two weeks ago — in which Trump said he would waive executive privilege so Bannon could testify before the committee. He also displayed the letter that Bannon’s former attorney, Robert Costello, sent the committee on the same day saying that Bannon was now willing to testify in a public hearing.

But Amerling then read aloud from the letter that the committee sent to Costello in response, noting that Bannon’s latest offer “does not change the fact that Mr. Bannon failed to follow [proper] process and failed to comply with the Select Committee’s subpoena prior to the House referral of the contempt resolution concerning Mr. Bannon’s defiance of the subpoena.”

Prosecutor Amanda Vaughn noted that before two weeks ago, Bannon never offered to comply with the subpoena, even after being told repeatedly by the committee last year that his claims had no basis in law and that he could face prosecution; even after he was found in contempt of Congress in October last year; even after he was criminally charged a month later for contempt of Congress; and even after a lawsuit related to executive privilege had been resolved by the Supreme Court six months ago.

Amerling testified that had Bannon complied with the subpoena in time, the committee would have had “at least nine months of additional time” to review the information, and now there are “five or so months” left of the committee.

“So as opposed to having 14 in total, the committee only now has five?” Corcoran asked.

“That’s correct,” said Amerling.

Jul 20, 3:48 PM EDT
Defense argues Bannon was constrained by questions over executive privilege

In the defense’s ongoing cross examination of Jan. 6 committee staffer Kirstin Amerling, attorney Evan Corcoran continued to stress how Bannon was prevented from testifying due to the right of executive privilege that protects confidential communication with members of the executive branch.

But Amerling testified that there are two main issues with such a claim.

First, she said, some of what the subpoena requested “had nothing to do with communication with the former president” and “could not possibly be reached by executive privilege” — especially Bannon’s communications with campaign advisers, members of Congress and other private parties, as well as information related to Bannon’s podcast, she testified.

In addition, despite what others may have said, “The president had not formally or informally invoked executive privilege,” Amerling said. “It hadn’t been invoked.”

Yet Bannon still refused to comply with the subpoena, despite having no legal grounds to do so, she said.

Amerling reiterated that by the time the committee met to decide whether to pursue contempt charges, “there had been extensive back-and-forth already between the select committee and the defendant’s attorney about the issue of executive privilege, and the select committee had made its position clear.”

Corcoran also argued that Bannon didn’t comply with the subpoena right away because he expected the deadline would ultimately change, due to the fact that it’s common for subpoena deadlines to shift.

Amerling, however, testified that Bannon’s situation was different.

“When witnesses are cooperating with the committee and indicate they are willing to provide testimony, it is not unusual to have some back-and-forth about the dates that they will appear,” she said. However, she said, “it is very unusual for witnesses who receive a subpoena to say outright they will not comply.”

In his questions, Corcoran also suggested that Amerling might be a biased witness, noting that she had donated to Democratic causes in the past, and that she is a member of the same book club as one of the prosecutors in the case, Molly Gaston.

“So you’re in a book club with the prosecutor in this case?” Corcoran asked.

“We are,” Amerling replied.

Amerling said that it had been some time — perhaps as much as a year or more — since she and Gaston both attended a meeting of the club. But she conceded that, with the types of people who are in the book club, it was “not unusual that we would talk about politics in some way or another.”

Jul 20, 12:55 PM EDT
Defense attorney presses Jan. 6 staffer on timing of subpoena deadline

Under cross-examination from Bannon defense attorney Evan Corcoran, House Jan. 6 committee senior staffer Kristin Amerling was pressed on why the committee set the deadlines it did for Bannon to comply with the subpoena — especially since “the select committee is still receiving and reviewing documents” now, Corcoran said.

Corcoran pressed Amerling over who specifically decided that Bannon should have to produce documents by 10 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2021, and who specifically decided that Bannon should have to appear for a deposition on Oct. 14, 2021.

Amerling said that the “process” of drafting the subpoena involved many people, including senior staff like herself, but it was all ultimately approved by committee Chairman Bennie Thompson.

“To the best of my recollection, because of the multiple roles that we understood Mr. Bannon potentially had with respect to the events of Jan. 6, at the time that we put the subpoena together, there was a general interest in obtaining information from him expeditiously, because we believed this information could potentially lead us to other relevant witnesses or other relevant documents,” Amerling said. “There was general interest in including deadlines that required expeditious response.”

“The committee authorization is just through the end of this year,” so it is operating under “a very tight timeframe,” she said.

Corcoran also said he wanted to made clear to the jury that, as he put it, “in this case, there is no allegation that Steve Bannon was involved in the attack” on the Capitol.

Earlier, Amerling testified that the committee tried to give Bannon “an opportunity” to explain his “misconduct” in ignoring the subpoena and to provide “information that might shed light on his misconduct, such as he might have been confused” about the subpoena — but Bannon never presented any such explanation or information before he was found in contempt, she said.

Jul 20, 11:17 AM EDT
Jan. 6 staffer says panel ‘rejected the basis’ for Bannon’s privilege claim

Kristin Amerling, a senior staffer on the House Jan. 6 committee, returned to the stand to continue her testimony from Tuesday. She testified that Bannon was clearly informed that any claims of privilege were rejected by the committee, and that his non-compliance “would force” the committee to refer the matter to the Justice Department for prosecution.

She said the subpoena issued to Bannon indicated he was “required to produce” records encompassing 17 specific categories, including records related to the Jan. 6 rally near the White House, his communications with Trump allies and several right-wing groups, his communications with Republican lawmakers, and information related to his “War Room” podcast.

The committee was seeking to understand “the relationships or potential relationships between different individuals and organizations that played a role in Jan. 6,” Amerling said. “We wanted to ask him what he knew.”

Asked by prosecutor Amanda Vaughn if Bannon provided any records to the committee by the deadline of 10 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2021, Amerling replied, “He did not.”

“Did the committee get anything more than radio silence by 10 a.m. on Oct. 7?” Vaughn asked.

“No,” said Amerling.

Amerling said that in a correspondence she received that day at about 5 p.m. — after the deadline had passed — Bannon’s attorney at the time, Robert Costello, claimed that Trump had “announced his intention to assert” executive privilege, which Costello said at the time rendered Bannon “unable to respond” to the subpoena “until these issues are resolved.”

But the next day, Amerling recalled on the stand, she sent Costello a letter from Jan. 6 committee chairman Bennie Thompson, “explaining that the committee rejected the basis that he had offered for refusing to comply.”

“Did the letter also tell the defendant he still had to comply?” Vaughn asked Amerling.

“Yes, it did.” Amerling said.

“Did the letter warn the defendant what might happen if he failed to comply with the subpoena?” Vaughn asked.

“Yes, it did,” said Amerling.

The letter was “establishing a clear record of the committee’s views, making sure the defendant was aware of that,” Amerling testified.

Jul 20, 10:06 AM EDT
Judge won’t let trial become ‘political circus,’ he says

Federal prosecutors in Steve Bannon’s contempt trial raised concerns with the judge that Bannon’s team has been suggesting to the jury that this is a “politically motivated prosecution” before the second day of testimony got underway Wednesday morning.

Before the jury was brought in, prosecutor Amanda Vaughn asked U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols to make sure the jury “doesn’t hear one more word about this case being” politically motivated, after she said the defense’s opening statement Tuesday had “clear implications” that the defense was making that claim.

Nichols had barred such arguments from the trial.

In response, defense attorney Evan Corcoran defended his opening statement, saying it “was clearly on the line.”

Nichols then made it clear that during trial, the defense team may ask witnesses questions about whether they themselves may be biased — “but may not ask questions about whether someone else was biased in an action they took outside this courtroom.”

“I do not intend for this to become a political case, a political circus,” Nichols said.

Jul 19, 6:14 PM EDT
Bannon, outside courtroom, criticizes Jan. 6 panel

Speaking to reporters after the first full day in court, Bannon blasted members of the Jan. 6 committee and House Democrats for not showing up as witnesses in his trial.

“Where is Bennie Thompson?” asked Bannon regarding the Jan. 6 committee chairman. “He’s made it a crime, not a civil charge … have the guts and the courage to show up here and say exactly why it’s a crime.”

“I will promise you one thing when the Republicans that are sweeping to victory on Nov. 8 — starting in January, you’re going to get a real committee,” Bannon said. “We’re going to get a real committee with a ranking member who will be a Democrat … and this will be run
appropriately and the American people will get the full story.”

-Laura Romero and Soo Rin Kim

Jul 19, 5:23 PM EDT
A subpoena isn’t voluntary, says prosecution witness

The first witness for the prosecution, Kristin Amerling of the Jan. 6 committee, testified that a subpoena is not voluntary.

Amerling, the Jan. 6 panel’s deputy staff director and chief counsel, read aloud the congressional resolution creating the committee and explained that the committee’s role is to recommend “corrective measures” to prevent future attacks like the one on Jan. 6.

“Is a subpoena voluntary in any way?” asked prosecutor Amanda Vaughn.

“No,” Amerling replied.

Amerling also discussed how important it is to get information in a timely manner because the committee’s authority runs out at the end of the year. “There is an urgency to the focus of the Select Committee’s work … we have a limited amount of time in which to gather information,” she said.

Amerling noted that Bannon was subpoenaed pretty early on in the committee’s investigation.

She said the committee subpoenaed Bannon in particular because public accounts indicated that Bannon tried to persuade the public that the 2020 election was “illegitimate”; that on his podcast the day before Jan. 6 he made statements “including that all hell was going to break loose, that suggested he might have some advance knowledge of the events of Jan. 6”; that he was involved in discussions with White House officials, including Trump himself, relating to “strategies surrounding the events of Jan. 6”; and that he had been involved in discussions in the days leading up to Jan. 6 with “private parties who had gathered in the Willard hotel in Washington, D.C., reportedly to discuss strategies around efforts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power or overturning the election results.”

“Is that something that would have been relevant to the committee’s investigation?” Vaughn asked.

“Yes, because the Select Committee was tasked with trying to understand what happened on Jan. 6, and why,” Amerling replied.

Amerling will be back on the stand Wednesday morning when the trial resumes.

Jul 19, 3:55 PM EDT
Defense tells jury ‘there was no ignoring the subpoena’

Bannon’s defense attorney Matt “Evan” Corcoran said in his opening statement that “no one ignored the subpoena” issued to Bannon, and that “there was direct engagement by Bob Costello,” Bannon’s attorney, with the House committee, specifically committee staffer Kristin Amerling.

He said Costello “immediately” communicated to the committee that there was an objection to the subpoena, “and that Steve Bannon could not appear and that he could not provide documents.”

“So there was no ignoring the subpoena,” Corcoran said. What followed was “a considerable back and forth” between Amerling and Costello — “they did what two lawyers do, they negotiated.”

Corcoran said, “the government wants you to believe … that Mr. Bannon committed a crime by not showing up to a congressional hearing room … but the evidence is going to be crystal clear no one, no one believed Mr. Bannon was going to appear on Oct. 14, 2021,” and the reasons he couldn’t appear had been articulated to the committee.

Corcoran told the jury that the government has to prove beyond a reasonable that Steve Bannon willfully defaulted when he didn’t appear for the deposition on Oct. 14, 2021 — “but you’ll find from the evidence that that date on the subpoena was the subject of ongoing discussions” and it was not “fixed.”

In addition, Corcoran told jurors, you will hear that “almost every single one” of the witnesses subpoenaed led to negotiations between committee staff and lawyers, and often the appearance would be at a later date than what was on the subpoena.

Corcoran also argued that the prosecution may have been infected by politics, telling the jury that with each document or each statement provided at trial, they should ask themselves: “Is this piece of evidence affected by politics?”

Jul 19, 3:31 PM EDT
Prosecutors say Bannon’s failure to comply was deliberate

Continuing her opening statement, federal prosecutor Amanda Vaughn told the jury that the subpoena to Bannon directed him to provide documents by the morning of Oct. 7, 2021, and to appear for a deposition the morning of Oct. 14, 2021 — but instead he had an attorney, Robert Costello, send a letter to the committee informing the committee that he would not comply “in any way,” she said.

“The excuse the defendant gave for not complying” was the claim that “a privilege” meant he didn’t have to turn over certain information, Vaughn said. “[But] it’s not up to the defendant or anyone else to decide if he can ignore the [request] based on a privilege, it’s up to the committee.”

And, said Vaughn, the committee clearly told Bannon that “your privilege does not get you out of this one, you have to provide documents, and you have to come to your deposition.” And importantly, she said, the committee told Bannon that “a refusal to comply” could result in criminal prosecution.

“You will see, the defendant’s failure to comply was deliberate here,” Vaughn told the jury. “The only verdict that is supported by the evidence here: that the defendant showed his contempt for the U.S. Congress, and that he’s guilty.”

Jul 19, 2:58 PM EDT
Prosecution begins opening statements

Federal prosecutor Amanda Vaughn began opening statements by saying, “In September of last year, Congress needed information from the defendant, Steve Bannon. … Congress needed to know what the defendant knew about the events of Jan. 6, 2021. … Congress had gotten information that the defendant might have some details about the events leading up to that day and what occurred that day.”

So, Vaughn told the jury, Congress gave Bannon a subpoena “that mandated” he provide any information he might have.

“Congress was entitled to the information it sought, it wasn’t optional,” Vaughn said. “But as you will learn in this trial, the defendant refused to hand over the information he might have.”

Vaughn said Bannon ignored “multiple warnings” that he could face criminal prosecution for refusing to comply with the subpoena and for preventing the government from getting “important information.”

“The defendant decided he was above the law and decided he didn’t need to follow the government’s orders,” she said.

Jul 19, 2:51 PM EDT
Judge instructs jury of the burden of proof

Prior to opening statements, the judge made clear to the jury that the Justice Department has the burden to prove four distinct elements “beyond a reasonable doubt”:

(1) that Bannon was in fact subpoenaed for testimony and/or documents;

(2) that the testimony and/or documents were “pertinent” to the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation;

(3) that Bannon “failed to comply or refused to comply” with the subpoena;

(4) that the “failure or refusal to comply was willful.”

Jul 19, 2:44 PM EDT
Jury sworn in after judge denies continuance

A 14-member jury has been sworn in for the contempt trial of ex-Trump strategist Steve Bannon.

Of the 14 jurors, nine are men and five are women.

The swearing-in of the jury comes after U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols denied the defense’s request for a one-month delay of the trial, which attorneys for Bannon argued was necessary due to a “seismic shift in the understanding of the parties” of what the government’s evidence will be.

“We have a jury that is just about picked,” Nichols said in denying the request for a one-month continuance.

One of the jurors, a man who works for an appliance company, said Monday during jury selection that he watched the first Jan. 6 committee hearing and believes the committee is “trying to find the truth about what happened” on Jan. 6.

Another juror, a man who works as a maintenance manager for the Washington, D.C., Parks and Recreation department, said he believes what happened on Jan. 6 “doesn’t make sense.”

Another juror, a woman who works as a photographer for NASA, said “a lot” of her “photographer friends were at the Capitol” on Jan. 6, and she has watched some of the Jan. 6 hearings on the news.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bannon trial live updates: Jury begins deliberations after government’s rebuttal

Bannon trial live updates: Closing arguments get underway
Bannon trial live updates: Closing arguments get underway
Win McNamee/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Steve Bannon, who served as former President Donald Trump’s chief strategist before departing the White House in August 2017, is on trial for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Bannon was subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 panel for records and testimony in September of last year.

After the House of Representatives voted to hold him in contempt for defying the subpoena, the Justice Department in November charged Bannon with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, setting up this week’s trial.

Here is how the news is developing. All times are Eastern:

Jul 22, 12:34 PM EDT
Jury begins deliberations after government’s rebuttal

The contempt case against Steve Bannon is now in the jury’s hands, after the government finished its rebuttal to the defense’s closing argument.

Prosecutor Amanda Vaughn began the rebuttal by telling the jury, “The defendant wants to make this hard, difficult, and confusing. They want you to wonder, ‘What am I missing?'”

“You’re not missing anything,” Vaughn said. “There were two witnesses because it’s as simple as it seems … as clear as black and white” on paper, she said.

She said Bannon did tell the committee he would not comply with the subpoena, but “that is not a negotiation.” She said the committee repeatedly told Bannon that it rejected his claims and that he had to comply, but Bannon is now defending his actions by saying he had raised objections at the time.

“That is like a child continuing to argue with their parent after they’ve been grounded. They know they’ve been grounded, they can argue all they want; it doesn’t change the fact that the decision has been made,” she said. In this case, she said, the committee made the decision and has the authority to do so.

“This is not a mistake,” Vaughn said of Bannon’s actions. “It’s a choice, it is contempt, and it is a crime.”

She then pushed back on the defense’s argument that Bannon’s noncompliance can’t be “willful” because the committee didn’t pursue other options or take the matter to a court, as if the committee “had some sort of obligation” to go to court and “get their permission,” she said.

“That’s like saying the referee on a soccer field can’t make calls on plays unless they go over to the baseball diamond next door and get the umpire’s opinion first,” Vaughn said. “The committee doesn’t answer to former President Trump” — it’s a different branch of government, she said.

As for Bannon’s recent “no harm, no foul” argument that he is now willing to testify publicly after Trump sent a letter saying he would waive executive privilege, Vaughn said, “That’s not what the evidence in this case shows.”

“That sudden decision to comply is nothing but a ploy. And it’s not even a good one, because the defendant forgot to tell the committee he would supply them with documents,” Vaughn said. Bannon is “pretending to comply now,” she said, and “it’s a waste of everyone’s time.”

“The committee told the defendant many times that defiance is a crime, but he didn’t listen because he didn’t care. He had contempt for them and the public service they’re trying to perform,” Vaughn said.

“He is guilty,” she concluded.

At the conclusion of closing arguments, the judge released the one alternate juror remaining, leaving the 12 jurors to begin deliberations.

Jul 22, 12:08 PM EDT
Case against Bannon is a ‘rush to judgment,’ defense tells jury

Defense attorney Evan Corcoran continued his closing argument by asking the jury to assess each witness’s “credibility.”

“You need to consider whether a witness has an interest in the outcome of the case, and need to consider whether the witness has a friendship … with anyone associated with the case,” he said.

“The entire foundation of the government’s case rests on Ms. Amerling,” the Jan. 6 committee staffer, Corcoran said, adding that “of course” she has an interest in the outcome of this case.

He said Amerling “singled out” Bannon and “rushed to judgment,” claiming that she filled out the subpoena’s “proof of service” form “before it was served.”

“Why fill out the proof of service before it was accomplished? That’s a reason to doubt the government’s case,” he said.

He also suggested that Amerling has a political bias, saying that Amerling has been a “staff member aligned with one political party” and donated to Democratic causes.

“Ms. Amerling worked for 20 years for one political party,” he said.

Referencing the book club that Amerling and prosecutor Molly Gaston both belong to, Corcoran said that Amerling has a “relationship with the prosecutor,” which “raises questions.”

“They socialized out of work,” Corcoran said, before adding, “Make no mistake, I’m not against book clubs,” which drew laughs from those watching in the courtroom.

Corcoran also told the jury that Bannon didn’t comply with the subpoena because he believed negotiations with the jury were ongoing. Of the letters between the Jan. 6 committee and Bannon’s attorney, Robert Costello, in which the committee repeatedly told Costello that Bannon must comply, Corcoran said, “The government wants you to believe that that’s a paper trail to a crime. … It’s two lawyers trying to communicate and negotiate over a legal issue.”

As for the deadlines written on the subpoenas, “those dates were placeholders,” he said.

Corcoran also said that Bannon’s compliance was impacted by concerns over executive privilege.

“He didn’t intentionally refuse to comply with the subpoena,” Corcoran said. “He clearly, through his attorney, said, ‘Let’s remove the obstacle to my coming to testify. Let’s get rid of the obstacle of executive privilege, and I’ll testify, as I’ve done on several occasions before Congress.'”

Corcoran said that Bannon asked the committee to bring the executive privilege question before a court, and told the committee, “I will abide by the judge’s rules.”

“This case is not, as the prosecution said, about the need for people to play by the rules,” Corcoran said in wrapping up. “This is about Ms. Amerling saying they need to play by her rules.”

“Steve Bannon is innocent,” Corcoran concluded.

Jul 22, 11:46 AM EDT
Defense tells jury the government’s case ‘should give you pause’

Defense attorney Evan Corcoran began his closing argument by saying, “None of us will soon forget Jan. 6, 2021. It’s part of our collective memory.”

“But there isn’t evidence in this case that Steve Bannon was involved at all,” he said. “Steve Bannon is innocent of the crimes with which he’s charged.”

Telling the jury that there are many “things” that should “give you pause,” Corcoran said there is “reason to doubt the government’s case.”

He made several claims suggesting that the subpoena may not be valid for procedural reasons.

Corcoran said that Jan. 6 committee staffer Kristin Amerling testified that to her knowledge, Bannon, in conjunction with his subpoena, wasn’t provided a certain section of the House resolution laying out congressional rules, as required by congressional regulations. “That’s a reason for you to doubt the prosecution’s case. You must give Steve Bannon the benefit of the doubt,” Corcoran said.

The judge, however, interrupted Corcoran and told him to tie his remark to “an issue that’s actually been submitted” during trial — and when the prosecution raised an objection to Corcoran’s remarks, he moved on.

Corcoran then noted that Amerling had testified that a committee subpoena is only valid if it’s signed by the committee’s chairman. He then showed the jury Jan. 6 committee chairman Bennie Thompson’s signature on letters to then-Bannon attorney Robert Costello, comparing it to Thompson’s signature on the subpoena.

“That is the signature on the subpoena, and you could ask yourself if one of those things is different than the other. Because that could be a doubt as to the government’s case, a reasonable doubt as to [whether] chairman Thompson signed the subpoena,” Corcoran said.

At that point, the judge called for a private sidebar again, and after that Corcoran moved on.

Jul 22, 10:57 AM EDT
Bannon chose ‘allegiance’ to Trump over the law, prosecutor says

During her closing argument, prosecutor Molly Gaston reminded the jury that the judge had told them that to convict Bannon, they must find that he not only failed to comply with the subpoena, but that he did so “willfully” — not to mean that he did it for an “evil or bad purpose,” but that the failure was “deliberate and intentional” and not the result of “inadvertence, accident or mistake.”

Gaston insisted that Bannon’s decision was “deliberate” and “willful” and that, “the reason for that choice does not matter.”

“It does not matter if he refused to comply because his lawyers advised him so,” or because he believed a privilege was involved, she said. “As long as the defendant knew that he had been commanded by the subpoena to produce documents and give testimony,” then “his belief that he had a good excuse not to comply does not matter. That is not a defense for contempt.”

She said this may be “strict,” but “in order for the government to function, citizens need to follow the rules. … It is how we all live together in society.”

“The defendant chose allegiance to Donald Trump over compliance with the law,” Gaston said.

Regarding claims by the defense that Bannon thought the dates “in black and white on the face of that document were not hard deadlines,” Gaston said: “Please don’t fall for that.”

“We are here because the defendant had contempt for Congress,” she said. “This is a situation in which the name of the crime tells you everything you need to know: contempt.”

Referring to Bannon’s defense attorney, Gaston said that “Mr. Corcoran has tried to tell you this case is about politics, but the only person making this case about politics is the defendant, and he is doing it to distract and confuse you. Don’t let him.”

“There is nothing political about enforcing the law against someone who, like the defendant, flouts it,” she said.

“The defendant chose defiance,” Gaston said. “Find him guilty.”

Jul 22, 10:34 AM EDT
Prosecutor tells jury Bannon ‘didn’t show up’

Prosecutor Molly Gaston began closing arguments by telling the jury, “This case is not complicated, but it is important.”

“This is simply a case about a man — that man, Steve Bannon — who didn’t show up,” she said. “Why didn’t he show up? He didn’t show up because he did not want to, because he did not want to provide the Jan. 6 committee with documents, he did not want to answers its questions, and when it really comes down to it, he did not want to recognize Congress’ authority or play by the government’s rules.”

“So why is this case important?” Gaston said. “It is important because our government only works if people show up. It only works if people play by the rules. And it only works if people are held accountable when they do not. And in this case, when the defendant deliberately chose to defy a congressional subpoena, that was a crime.”

Calling Jan. 6 “a dark day in our nation’s history” that included “violence against law enforcement” and efforts to disrupt the “peaceful transfer of power,” Gaston said Congress created the Jan. 6 committee to “make sense of it” and to “make sure that it never happens again.”

Regarding the subpoena that the committee sent Bannon, she said, “This document is not hard to understand. It tells the defendant what he is required to do, and when he is required to do it.”

“The defendant did not produce a single document,” Gaston said. “Was that a mistake? No, that was intentional.”

She recited the back-and-forth correspondence between Bannon’s then-lawyer, Robert Costello, and the committee, in which Bannon claimed that executive privilege “completely exempted him” and the committee repeatedly said that it “rejected” that claim and warned Bannon that he could face prosecution for contempt of Congress.

She noted that the privilege that Bannon claimed “could not possibly cover everything” that the committee was asking for, and that Bannon “made clear” in a social media post that “he was defying the committee to — quote — ‘stand with Trump.'”

“This is the defendant celebrating his defiance,” Gaston said. “And this shows the defendant knew that the subpoena required him to produce documents.”

“This was not a mistake,” Gaston said, telling the jury “he ignored” the subpoena.

Jul 22, 10:04 AM EDT
Closing arguments get underway

Closing arguments are underway, after Judge Nichols gave the jury instructions for deliberations.

Regarding Bannon’s decision not to testify in the case, Nichols specifically told the jury: “You must not hold this decision against him, and it would be improper to speculate as to the reasons.”

“You must not assume the defendant is guilty because he chose not to testify,” the judge said.

The government will first make its closing argument, then the defense will make its closing argument, followed by a shorter rebuttal by the government.

Jul 22, 9:50 AM EDT
Defense concerned about impact of Jan. 6 hearing as trial resumes

As court resumed Friday morning for expected closing arguments, Bannon’s defense team filed a “notice” to Judge Carl Nichols expressing concern over last night’s prime-time Jan. 6 committee hearing and its “possible impact on the jury,” calling a segment in the hearing “highly inflammatory.”

The notice says that last night’s hearing “included a feature segment on the Defendant Stephen K. Bannon of a particularly inflammatory nature.” It’s referring to audio of Bannon that was played at about 10:38 p.m. ET in which Bannon can be heard days before the 2020 presidential election saying that even if Trump loses the election, “Trump will declare victory,” and there will be a “firestorm.”

Bannon’s defense team asked the judge to ask jurors whether they watched or heard about that segment, or the hearing in general.

“[T]here should be some inquiry, while assuring the jurors of the importance of candor and that they will not suffer negative consequences if they acknowledge exposure to the broadcast or its subject,” the team’s filing said.

“The nature and substance of the segment present a significant cause for concern regarding possible prejudice to Mr. Bannon’s constitutional fair trial rights and right to a jury trial if a juror viewed the segment of was made aware of it in some manner,” it said.

The jury has been brought into the courtroom for today’s proceedings, and so far there has been no mention of the defense team’s latest filing.

News coverage of the Jan. 6 committee has been an ongoing concern for both the defense team and prosecutors throughout this case. At the request of prosecutors, Judge Nichols reminded the jury not to watch or read about last night’s hearing before he sent the jury home last night.

Jul 21, 4:16 PM EDT
Leaving court, Bannon says he’s testified ‘more than anybody else’ in administration

Leaving the courthouse after the day in court, Bannon told reporters that — despite his decision not to testify in his trial on the advice of counsel — he has no compunction about testifying.

“Make sure everybody understands, of any person in the Trump administration, Stephen K. Bannon has testified,” Bannon said, referring to his earlier testimony as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe and a parallel investigation by the House Intelligence Committee at the time.

“Thirty hours in the Mueller Commission … 20 hours in front of the House Intelligence Committee … I think over 50 hours of testimony,” Bannon said.

“Every single time, more than anybody else in the Trump administration,” he said.

Jul 21, 3:05 PM EDT
Defense rests its case after telling judge they were ‘stymied’

The defense has rested its case and the jury has been sent home for the day, with closing arguments and jury instructions planned for Friday morning.

“Your honor, the defense rests,” Bannon’s attorney Evan Corcoran said before the jury was dismissed for the day.

The move comes after defense attorney David Schoen told Judge Carl Nichols that Bannon was never able to mount a full defense in the trial because the judge limited the types of arguments the defense could make, and because the defense had been unable to question members of the Jan. 6 committee rather than just a staffer.

The defense especially wanted to question committee chairman Bennie Thompson, who signed the subpoena at issue and then referred the case to the Justice Department for prosecution.

“Our view is we’ve been badly stymied in bringing a defense in this case,” Schoen said. Bannon, he said, has been “handcuffed and not able to explain his story of the case.”

Nichols disputed the characterization, telling Schoen that he has simply been following the law in deciding what should be allowed at trial.

Jul 21, 12:49 PM EDT
Attorneys argue over whether subpoena dates were ‘in flux’

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.

Jul 21, 12:13 PM EDT
Defense says no witnesses, including Bannon, will take the stand

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.

Jul 20, 6:18 PM EDT
Bannon again rails at Thompson as he leaves courthouse

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, who 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

Jul 20, 5:55 PM EDT
FBI agent details Bannon’s social posts about subpoena before government rests its case

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.

Jul 20, 4:39 PM EDT
Defense says Bannon was in ongoing negotiations with committee

As his cross-examination of Jan. 6 committee staffer Kirstin Amerling wrapped up, defense attorney Evan Corcoran continued to frame Bannon’s noncompliance with the subpoena as happening at a time when Bannon’s attorney was still in negotiations with the committee.

Amerling, however, testified that Bannon wasn’t in negotiations because there was nothing to negotiate — Trump hadn’t actually asserted executive privilege, Amerling said, so there was no outstanding issue to resolve. And she said that the committee had made clear to Bannon repeatedly that there were no legal grounds for his refusal to turn over documents and testify before the committee.

Corcoran showed the jury the letter that Trump sent to Bannon on July 9, 2022 — just two weeks ago — in which Trump said he would waive executive privilege so Bannon could testify before the committee. He also displayed the letter that Bannon’s former attorney, Robert Costello, sent the committee on the same day saying that Bannon was now willing to testify in a public hearing.

But Amerling then read aloud from the letter that the committee sent to Costello in response, noting that Bannon’s latest offer “does not change the fact that Mr. Bannon failed to follow [proper] process and failed to comply with the Select Committee’s subpoena prior to the House referral of the contempt resolution concerning Mr. Bannon’s defiance of the subpoena.”

Prosecutor Amanda Vaughn noted that before two weeks ago, Bannon never offered to comply with the subpoena, even after being told repeatedly by the committee last year that his claims had no basis in law and that he could face prosecution; even after he was found in contempt of Congress in October last year; even after he was criminally charged a month later for contempt of Congress; and even after a lawsuit related to executive privilege had been resolved by the Supreme Court six months ago.

Amerling testified that had Bannon complied with the subpoena in time, the committee would have had “at least nine months of additional time” to review the information, and now there are “five or so months” left of the committee.

“So as opposed to having 14 in total, the committee only now has five?” Corcoran asked.

“That’s correct,” said Amerling.

Jul 20, 3:48 PM EDT
Defense argues Bannon was constrained by questions over executive privilege

In the defense’s ongoing cross examination of Jan. 6 committee staffer Kirstin Amerling, attorney Evan Corcoran continued to stress how Bannon was prevented from testifying due to the right of executive privilege that protects confidential communication with members of the executive branch.

But Amerling testified that there are two main issues with such a claim.

First, she said, some of what the subpoena requested “had nothing to do with communication with the former president” and “could not possibly be reached by executive privilege” — especially Bannon’s communications with campaign advisers, members of Congress and other private parties, as well as information related to Bannon’s podcast, she testified.

In addition, despite what others may have said, “The president had not formally or informally invoked executive privilege,” Amerling said. “It hadn’t been invoked.”

Yet Bannon still refused to comply with the subpoena, despite having no legal grounds to do so, she said.

Amerling reiterated that by the time the committee met to decide whether to pursue contempt charges, “there had been extensive back-and-forth already between the select committee and the defendant’s attorney about the issue of executive privilege, and the select committee had made its position clear.”

Corcoran also argued that Bannon didn’t comply with the subpoena right away because he expected the deadline would ultimately change, due to the fact that it’s common for subpoena deadlines to shift.

Amerling, however, testified that Bannon’s situation was different.

“When witnesses are cooperating with the committee and indicate they are willing to provide testimony, it is not unusual to have some back-and-forth about the dates that they will appear,” she said. However, she said, “it is very unusual for witnesses who receive a subpoena to say outright they will not comply.”

In his questions, Corcoran also suggested that Amerling might be a biased witness, noting that she had donated to Democratic causes in the past, and that she is a member of the same book club as one of the prosecutors in the case, Molly Gaston.

“So you’re in a book club with the prosecutor in this case?” Corcoran asked.

“We are,” Amerling replied.

Amerling said that it had been some time — perhaps as much as a year or more — since she and Gaston both attended a meeting of the club. But she conceded that, with the types of people who are in the book club, it was “not unusual that we would talk about politics in some way or another.”

Jul 20, 12:55 PM EDT
Defense attorney presses Jan. 6 staffer on timing of subpoena deadline

Under cross-examination from Bannon defense attorney Evan Corcoran, House Jan. 6 committee senior staffer Kristin Amerling was pressed on why the committee set the deadlines it did for Bannon to comply with the subpoena — especially since “the select committee is still receiving and reviewing documents” now, Corcoran said.

Corcoran pressed Amerling over who specifically decided that Bannon should have to produce documents by 10 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2021, and who specifically decided that Bannon should have to appear for a deposition on Oct. 14, 2021.

Amerling said that the “process” of drafting the subpoena involved many people, including senior staff like herself, but it was all ultimately approved by committee Chairman Bennie Thompson.

“To the best of my recollection, because of the multiple roles that we understood Mr. Bannon potentially had with respect to the events of Jan. 6, at the time that we put the subpoena together, there was a general interest in obtaining information from him expeditiously, because we believed this information could potentially lead us to other relevant witnesses or other relevant documents,” Amerling said. “There was general interest in including deadlines that required expeditious response.”

“The committee authorization is just through the end of this year,” so it is operating under “a very tight timeframe,” she said.

Corcoran also said he wanted to made clear to the jury that, as he put it, “in this case, there is no allegation that Steve Bannon was involved in the attack” on the Capitol.

Earlier, Amerling testified that the committee tried to give Bannon “an opportunity” to explain his “misconduct” in ignoring the subpoena and to provide “information that might shed light on his misconduct, such as he might have been confused” about the subpoena — but Bannon never presented any such explanation or information before he was found in contempt, she said.

Jul 20, 11:17 AM EDT
Jan. 6 staffer says panel ‘rejected the basis’ for Bannon’s privilege claim

Kristin Amerling, a senior staffer on the House Jan. 6 committee, returned to the stand to continue her testimony from Tuesday. She testified that Bannon was clearly informed that any claims of privilege were rejected by the committee, and that his non-compliance “would force” the committee to refer the matter to the Justice Department for prosecution.

She said the subpoena issued to Bannon indicated he was “required to produce” records encompassing 17 specific categories, including records related to the Jan. 6 rally near the White House, his communications with Trump allies and several right-wing groups, his communications with Republican lawmakers, and information related to his “War Room” podcast.

The committee was seeking to understand “the relationships or potential relationships between different individuals and organizations that played a role in Jan. 6,” Amerling said. “We wanted to ask him what he knew.”

Asked by prosecutor Amanda Vaughn if Bannon provided any records to the committee by the deadline of 10 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2021, Amerling replied, “He did not.”

“Did the committee get anything more than radio silence by 10 a.m. on Oct. 7?” Vaughn asked.

“No,” said Amerling.

Amerling said that in a correspondence she received that day at about 5 p.m. — after the deadline had passed — Bannon’s attorney at the time, Robert Costello, claimed that Trump had “announced his intention to assert” executive privilege, which Costello said at the time rendered Bannon “unable to respond” to the subpoena “until these issues are resolved.”

But the next day, Amerling recalled on the stand, she sent Costello a letter from Jan. 6 committee chairman Bennie Thompson, “explaining that the committee rejected the basis that he had offered for refusing to comply.”

“Did the letter also tell the defendant he still had to comply?” Vaughn asked Amerling.

“Yes, it did.” Amerling said.

“Did the letter warn the defendant what might happen if he failed to comply with the subpoena?” Vaughn asked.

“Yes, it did,” said Amerling.

The letter was “establishing a clear record of the committee’s views, making sure the defendant was aware of that,” Amerling testified.

Jul 20, 10:06 AM EDT
Judge won’t let trial become ‘political circus,’ he says

Federal prosecutors in Steve Bannon’s contempt trial raised concerns with the judge that Bannon’s team has been suggesting to the jury that this is a “politically motivated prosecution” before the second day of testimony got underway Wednesday morning.

Before the jury was brought in, prosecutor Amanda Vaughn asked U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols to make sure the jury “doesn’t hear one more word about this case being” politically motivated, after she said the defense’s opening statement Tuesday had “clear implications” that the defense was making that claim.

Nichols had barred such arguments from the trial.

In response, defense attorney Evan Corcoran defended his opening statement, saying it “was clearly on the line.”

Nichols then made it clear that during trial, the defense team may ask witnesses questions about whether they themselves may be biased — “but may not ask questions about whether someone else was biased in an action they took outside this courtroom.”

“I do not intend for this to become a political case, a political circus,” Nichols said.

Jul 19, 6:14 PM EDT
Bannon, outside courtroom, criticizes Jan. 6 panel

Speaking to reporters after the first full day in court, Bannon blasted members of the Jan. 6 committee and House Democrats for not showing up as witnesses in his trial.

“Where is Bennie Thompson?” asked Bannon regarding the Jan. 6 committee chairman. “He’s made it a crime, not a civil charge … have the guts and the courage to show up here and say exactly why it’s a crime.”

“I will promise you one thing when the Republicans that are sweeping to victory on Nov. 8 — starting in January, you’re going to get a real committee,” Bannon said. “We’re going to get a real committee with a ranking member who will be a Democrat … and this will be run
appropriately and the American people will get the full story.”

-Laura Romero and Soo Rin Kim

Jul 19, 5:23 PM EDT
A subpoena isn’t voluntary, says prosecution witness

The first witness for the prosecution, Kristin Amerling of the Jan. 6 committee, testified that a subpoena is not voluntary.

Amerling, the Jan. 6 panel’s deputy staff director and chief counsel, read aloud the congressional resolution creating the committee and explained that the committee’s role is to recommend “corrective measures” to prevent future attacks like the one on Jan. 6.

“Is a subpoena voluntary in any way?” asked prosecutor Amanda Vaughn.

“No,” Amerling replied.

Amerling also discussed how important it is to get information in a timely manner because the committee’s authority runs out at the end of the year. “There is an urgency to the focus of the Select Committee’s work … we have a limited amount of time in which to gather information,” she said.

Amerling noted that Bannon was subpoenaed pretty early on in the committee’s investigation.

She said the committee subpoenaed Bannon in particular because public accounts indicated that Bannon tried to persuade the public that the 2020 election was “illegitimate”; that on his podcast the day before Jan. 6 he made statements “including that all hell was going to break loose, that suggested he might have some advance knowledge of the events of Jan. 6”; that he was involved in discussions with White House officials, including Trump himself, relating to “strategies surrounding the events of Jan. 6”; and that he had been involved in discussions in the days leading up to Jan. 6 with “private parties who had gathered in the Willard hotel in Washington, D.C., reportedly to discuss strategies around efforts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power or overturning the election results.”

“Is that something that would have been relevant to the committee’s investigation?” Vaughn asked.

“Yes, because the Select Committee was tasked with trying to understand what happened on Jan. 6, and why,” Amerling replied.

Amerling will be back on the stand Wednesday morning when the trial resumes.

Jul 19, 3:55 PM EDT
Defense tells jury ‘there was no ignoring the subpoena’

Bannon’s defense attorney Matt “Evan” Corcoran said in his opening statement that “no one ignored the subpoena” issued to Bannon, and that “there was direct engagement by Bob Costello,” Bannon’s attorney, with the House committee, specifically committee staffer Kristin Amerling.

He said Costello “immediately” communicated to the committee that there was an objection to the subpoena, “and that Steve Bannon could not appear and that he could not provide documents.”

“So there was no ignoring the subpoena,” Corcoran said. What followed was “a considerable back and forth” between Amerling and Costello — “they did what two lawyers do, they negotiated.”

Corcoran said, “the government wants you to believe … that Mr. Bannon committed a crime by not showing up to a congressional hearing room … but the evidence is going to be crystal clear no one, no one believed Mr. Bannon was going to appear on Oct. 14, 2021,” and the reasons he couldn’t appear had been articulated to the committee.

Corcoran told the jury that the government has to prove beyond a reasonable that Steve Bannon willfully defaulted when he didn’t appear for the deposition on Oct. 14, 2021 — “but you’ll find from the evidence that that date on the subpoena was the subject of ongoing discussions” and it was not “fixed.”

In addition, Corcoran told jurors, you will hear that “almost every single one” of the witnesses subpoenaed led to negotiations between committee staff and lawyers, and often the appearance would be at a later date than what was on the subpoena.

Corcoran also argued that the prosecution may have been infected by politics, telling the jury that with each document or each statement provided at trial, they should ask themselves: “Is this piece of evidence affected by politics?”

Jul 19, 3:31 PM EDT
Prosecutors say Bannon’s failure to comply was deliberate

Continuing her opening statement, federal prosecutor Amanda Vaughn told the jury that the subpoena to Bannon directed him to provide documents by the morning of Oct. 7, 2021, and to appear for a deposition the morning of Oct. 14, 2021 — but instead he had an attorney, Robert Costello, send a letter to the committee informing the committee that he would not comply “in any way,” she said.

“The excuse the defendant gave for not complying” was the claim that “a privilege” meant he didn’t have to turn over certain information, Vaughn said. “[But] it’s not up to the defendant or anyone else to decide if he can ignore the [request] based on a privilege, it’s up to the committee.”

And, said Vaughn, the committee clearly told Bannon that “your privilege does not get you out of this one, you have to provide documents, and you have to come to your deposition.” And importantly, she said, the committee told Bannon that “a refusal to comply” could result in criminal prosecution.

“You will see, the defendant’s failure to comply was deliberate here,” Vaughn told the jury. “The only verdict that is supported by the evidence here: that the defendant showed his contempt for the U.S. Congress, and that he’s guilty.”

Jul 19, 2:58 PM EDT
Prosecution begins opening statements

Federal prosecutor Amanda Vaughn began opening statements by saying, “In September of last year, Congress needed information from the defendant, Steve Bannon. … Congress needed to know what the defendant knew about the events of Jan. 6, 2021. … Congress had gotten information that the defendant might have some details about the events leading up to that day and what occurred that day.”

So, Vaughn told the jury, Congress gave Bannon a subpoena “that mandated” he provide any information he might have.

“Congress was entitled to the information it sought, it wasn’t optional,” Vaughn said. “But as you will learn in this trial, the defendant refused to hand over the information he might have.”

Vaughn said Bannon ignored “multiple warnings” that he could face criminal prosecution for refusing to comply with the subpoena and for preventing the government from getting “important information.”

“The defendant decided he was above the law and decided he didn’t need to follow the government’s orders,” she said.

Jul 19, 2:51 PM EDT
Judge instructs jury of the burden of proof

Prior to opening statements, the judge made clear to the jury that the Justice Department has the burden to prove four distinct elements “beyond a reasonable doubt”:

(1) that Bannon was in fact subpoenaed for testimony and/or documents;

(2) that the testimony and/or documents were “pertinent” to the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation;

(3) that Bannon “failed to comply or refused to comply” with the subpoena;

(4) that the “failure or refusal to comply was willful.”

Jul 19, 2:44 PM EDT
Jury sworn in after judge denies continuance

A 14-member jury has been sworn in for the contempt trial of ex-Trump strategist Steve Bannon.

Of the 14 jurors, nine are men and five are women.

The swearing-in of the jury comes after U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols denied the defense’s request for a one-month delay of the trial, which attorneys for Bannon argued was necessary due to a “seismic shift in the understanding of the parties” of what the government’s evidence will be.

“We have a jury that is just about picked,” Nichols said in denying the request for a one-month continuance.

One of the jurors, a man who works for an appliance company, said Monday during jury selection that he watched the first Jan. 6 committee hearing and believes the committee is “trying to find the truth about what happened” on Jan. 6.

Another juror, a man who works as a maintenance manager for the Washington, D.C., Parks and Recreation department, said he believes what happened on Jan. 6 “doesn’t make sense.”

Another juror, a woman who works as a photographer for NASA, said “a lot” of her “photographer friends were at the Capitol” on Jan. 6, and she has watched some of the Jan. 6 hearings on the news.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Record-high temperatures forecast for Northeast amid unwavering heat wave

Record-high temperatures forecast for Northeast amid unwavering heat wave
Record-high temperatures forecast for Northeast amid unwavering heat wave
ABC News

(NEW YORK) — More than 82 million Americans from California to New Hampshire are on alert for extreme heat Friday as the nation’s deadly, unwavering heat wave pushes on.

In the Northeast, heat advisories have been issued from Delaware to New Hampshire — and the heat is expected to intensify this weekend.

Record-high temperatures are forecast for Sunday from Philadelphia to New York City to Boston.

New York City’s Triathlon and Duathlon is shortening the run and bike portions of Sunday’s race due to the dangerous heat.

Philadelphia has enacted a heat health emergency.

In Boston, a heat emergency has been extended through Sunday. The city said cooling centers will be open and more than 50 splash pads are available.

The heat wave is also persisting in the South and the West.

Hard-hit Texas reached record highs in Austin (105 degrees) and San Antonio (102 degrees) on Thursday.

Dallas County reported its first heat-related death of the year on Thursday. The county’s Department of Health and Human Services said the victim was a 66-year-old Dallas woman with underlying health conditions.

Record highs are possible on Friday in Memphis, Tennessee, where the record stands at 103 degrees, and Phoenix, where the record is 116 degrees.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Veteran Rochester police officer killed, partner shot ‘in a cowardly ambush,’ officials say

Veteran Rochester police officer killed, partner shot ‘in a cowardly ambush,’ officials say
Veteran Rochester police officer killed, partner shot ‘in a cowardly ambush,’ officials say
kali9/Getty Images

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) — A police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty on Thursday night in Rochester, New York, officials said.

Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz, a 29-year veteran of the Rochester Police Department, was with his partner, Officer Sino Seng, an eight-year veteran, when they “were attacked in a cowardly ambush” on Bauman Street, according to Rochester Police Chief David Smith.

At least one male approached the officers and opened fire on them as they were conducting a detail at around 9:15 p.m. local time, according to Lt. Greg Bello of the Rochester Police Department.

Mazurkiewicz was shot at least once in the upper body, while Seng was shot at least once in the lower body, according to Smith, who said the pair “fell victim to the very violence in our community that we are trying to combat.”

Mazurkiewicz was rushed to Strong Hospital, where he was listed in threatening condition late Thursday. During a press conference the next morning, the police chief announced that, “despite heroic efforts,” Mazurkiewicz had died. The officer was a husband and father.

Seng was taken to Rochester General Hospital, where he was treated and released. He is “now recuperating from his injuries at home with his wife and children,” according to Smith.

During the attack, a female bystander was also struck by gunfire. She was treated for non-life threatening injuries, Smith added.

The police chief said a number of law enforcement agencies — local, state and federal — have responded to assist and are “being utilized to bring whomever is responsible for this heinous act to justice.”

“This is an ongoing investigation and updates will be provided as they become available,” Smith, who was visibly emotional, said at the press conference on Friday morning. “As we speak, the brave men and women of the Rochester Police Department are continuing to protect our community, despite this horrific and shocking loss to our family.”

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, who also spoke at the press conference, called it a “sad day for our community.”

“I am angry and upset because all too often we are seeing over and over again blatant disregard for life,” Evans said, “be it an old woman on her porch or a 10-year-old girl, braiding her mother’s hair, and now an officer in the line of duty, working to keep our city safe.”

The deadly shooting happened just hours after the mayor declared a local state of emergency due to “a surge” in gun violence.

“The city and our partners in government will dedicate all possible resources to bring an immediate end to this violence and prevent it from expanding further,” Evans said at a press conference earlier Thursday. “We know these shootings are directly tied to a deadly cycle of disputes and retaliations and we will do all we can to disrupt these disputes before they reach critical mass.”

On Friday, the mayor urged anyone with information on the triple shooting to come forward.

“Now is your time to speak up,” he said. “It was Tony Mazurkiewicz, but it can be any of us in this room tomorrow. This is a clarion call for this community to speak up.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

American man accused of murdering his wife while on their honeymoon in Fiji

American man accused of murdering his wife while on their honeymoon in Fiji
American man accused of murdering his wife while on their honeymoon in Fiji
pawel.gaul/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — An American man was recently arrested and charged with the murder of his wife while they were on their honeymoon at a luxury resort in Fiji, ABC News has learned.

The Fiji Police Force confirmed that on the afternoon of July 9, a woman identified as 36-year-old U.S. citizen Christe Chen was found motionless on the floor of her room by staff at Turtle Island, a 500-acre private island resort located in Fiji’s Yasawa archipelago. The resort’s management alerted authorities, who responded and pronounced Chen dead at the scene. She had been beaten to death, police told ABC News.

Chen’s husband, identified as 38-year-old U.S. citizen Bradley Robert Dawson, was located and arrested two days later in Nadi, a town located on the west coast of Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, according to police.

Dawson appeared in Lautoka Magistrates’ Court on July 13 and was charged with one count of murder. Due to the seriousness of the incident, Dawson’s case was referred to the Lautoka High Court, where he is scheduled to appear on July 27. He remains in custody at the Fiji Corrections Service’s facility in Lautoka, Fiji’s second-largest city, about 16 miles north of Nadi.

Dawson’s attorney, Iqbal Khan, told ABC News he intends to file a bail application on behalf of his client on July 25 but that he believes it will be difficult to secure bail, because Dawson is a foreigner with no local family or connections that can provide assurances.

Fiji Police Force prosecutor Arvind Kumar told ABC News that authorities are still preparing the disclosure of all the details and findings related to the case, which will be sent to the Lautoka High Court before Dawson’s scheduled appearance there next week.

Turtle Island, which hosts a maximum of 14 couples at a time in private villas, confirmed that “an incident took place between a married couple at the resort on July 9th, resulting in a tragic outcome and charges being laid.”

“We cooperated with the authorities during the investigation and the police left the island over a week ago,” the resort told ABC News in a statement. “It is our understanding that charges have been filed in the case. Our highest priority is the safety and concern for our guests and team, both who we value as family, and we are extremely saddened by the event. We continue to send our condolences to Ms. Chen’s family, friends, and colleagues. Given the need to respect the privacy of our guests and the ongoing legal investigation, please direct all further inquiries to the authorities.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State confirmed “the death of a U.S. citizen in Fiji.”

“Out of respect for the privacy of the family, we have no further comment at this time,” the spokesperson told ABC News in a statement.

ABC News contributor Brad Garett, a former FBI special agent, explained that when Americans travel abroad and are alleged to have committed a crime in a foreign country, “the local authorities will use their process.”

“Mr. Dawson is going to be in Fiji for a long time before this case is resolved, one way or the other,” Garett said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Economic cost of extreme heat is climbing

Economic cost of extreme heat is climbing
Economic cost of extreme heat is climbing
SimpleImages/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — It’s been a pressure cooker of a summer for economies in both the U.S. and Europe, and experts say the extreme heat is making it increasingly difficult for workers to do their jobs — especially those who work outdoors.

A historic and deadly heat wave has been scorching western Europe, killing more than 1,000 people in Spain and Portugal and displacing thousands in France, Greece and Italy. In Britain and Germany, the excessive heat is unprecedented. At the same time, much of the U.S. is baking under oppressive heat, as temperatures in Texas and Oklahoma topped 113 degrees.

A video this week of a UPS delivery driver collapsing in the triple-digit heat of Scottsdale, Arizona, went viral. A UPS spokesperson confirmed the incident in a statement to Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV-TV, saying in part: “We appreciate the concern for our employee and can report that he is fine… Our employee used his training to be aware of his situation and contact his manager for assistance, who immediately provided assistance.”

Worker productivity losses due to heat cost the U.S. an estimated $100 billion a year, according to a report by the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center. As days of extreme heat become more frequent, the report claims that figure is projected to double to $200 billion by 2030, or about 0.5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average temperatures of several major U.S. cities have increased over the last 120 years, with Los Angeles County getting 3.4 degrees hotter and New York County experiencing a rise of 3.2 degrees in the average temperature. In Dallas County, Texas, the average temperature rose 1.2 degrees in the past 60 years, according to NOAA, and experts say the Southeast and Midwest are projected to face the highest economic toll from extreme heat.

Texas loses an average of $30 billion a year due to its climate and the large number of people working outdoors, according to the think-tank’s report. That number is projected to jump to $110 billion a year by 2050, amounting to 2.5% of Texas’ total economic output.

That same report found that industries most affected by extreme heat are construction and agriculture, where workers are most exposed to the elements. By 2050, construction is projected to lose 3.5% of its total annual economic activity to heat, or $1.2 billion per year, while agriculture is estimated to lose 3.7%, or nearly $131 million a year.

President Joe Biden this week announced new executive steps to combat climate change but fell short of declaring a climate emergency. The move comes after a major legislative package with more than $300 billion in clean-energy tax breaks stalled on Capitol Hill.

“Since Congress is not acting as it should… This is an emergency and I will look at it that way,” Biden said.

The initiatives include $2.3 billion in funding for a program that helps communities prepare for disasters by expanding flood control and retrofitting buildings, as well as funding to help low-income families cover heating and cooling costs.

Americans’ electric bills are expected to increase by 20% to an average of $540 for this summer, compared to the same period last year, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. It comes at a time when consumers are already battling the highest inflation in 40 years with soaring prices for food, gas and other essentials.

But not all of that increase in energy bills is due to a rise in usage. The rise is partly fueled by a jump in the price of natural gas, which is used to generate electricity. Natural gas prices have surged this year following a production slump during the pandemic, as well as shortages due to the war in Ukraine.

Europe’s heat wave is adding pressure to the continent’s energy crunch. Electricity prices are already on the rise as Russia chokes off Europe’s natural gas supply. One of Germany’s largest power producers, Uniper, is asking for a government bailout after higher energy prices and rising demand for power amid soaring temperatures depleted the company’s cash.

The mercury reached a record 104 F in the U.K. this week, a country not accustomed to such extreme temperatures. The average temperature in the U.K. in July is 75 F so far, and most homes and businesses don’t have air conditioners. The Met Office, the country’s national weather service, warned that the heat will have “widespread impacts on people and infrastructure.” Luton Airport, north of London, suspended flights Monday after record heat caused a surface defect on the runway, while the country’s main rail network urged people to travel only if “absolutely necessary.”

Analysts say the sweltering heat comes at the height of tourism season for Europe and threatens foot traffic at retailers as shoppers choose to stay indoors.

Record high temperatures and wildfires in France, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy, which is suffering through one of its worst droughts on record, are destroying crops, pushing already high food prices even higher. More than half of the 27 countries in the European Union now face the threat of drought, made worse by extreme heat, according to a report from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.

According to a study last year by European economists and climate experts published in the journal Nature Communications, heat waves on average had lowered overall annual economic growth across Europe by as much as 0.5% in the past decade.

Italian Authorities in the northern region of Lombardy said 70% of crops are gone in the Po River delta and warn that water supplies for agriculture could run out by the end of July. The Italian farmers’ association, Coldiretti, said that each fire costs Italians about $25,000 an acre to rebuild, and the group estimates that wheat production in Italy will decline by 15% because of an increase in production costs and the drought.

“We’re working carefully, alongside different associations,” Lombardy President Attilio Fontana told a press conference in Milan on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, the only thing we can hope for is that it starts to rain again.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

How US economy could avoid a recession, according to economists

How US economy could avoid a recession, according to economists
How US economy could avoid a recession, according to economists
Javier Ghersi/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — As recession forecasts have grown dire in recent months, they’ve faced one complication: Strong economic data.

The U.S. showed robust job growth last month, defying expectations of a slowdown and keeping the unemployment rate at a near-historic low of 3.6%. Meanwhile, retail spending, a key indicator of economic health that reflects consumer appetite, rose 1% in June, outpacing gloomier predictions — even if some of that increase can be attributed to rising prices due to inflation.

The positive signs have fueled caution about the rush to pessimism.

“While sentiment has shifted, little of the data I see tells me the U.S. is on the cusp of a recession,” Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said during the company’s earnings call on Friday.

The trend raises the question of whether the U.S. could avoid a recession altogether.

In a sense, the answer is an unequivocal no, economists told ABC News. Ultimately, a recession is inevitable, since it makes up a natural part of an economic cycle marked by alternating periods of growth and contraction.

But the continued strength of the economy meaningfully challenges expectations that a recession will come to pass anytime soon, as robust hiring and healthy household and business balance sheets provide a buffer for a potential slowdown, they added. One economist, Jeremy Swartz of Credit Suisse, said it’s more likely that the economy will avoid a recession right now than undergo one.

Inflation

A stark imbalance between supply and demand poses a daunting challenge over the mid- and long-term, some less-optimistic economists said. In light of that imbalance, economic strength becomes a liability, since a supply bottleneck can’t keep up with hiring and spending, resulting in crippling inflation.

Safely navigating that predicament over the coming years — without triggering a recession — will require an unlikely but possible series of events, Aneta Markowska, chief economist at New York City-based financial services company Jefferies, told ABC News..

“There’s a consensus view right now that a recession is imminent — that, I think, is premature,” Markowska said. “We have an economy that’s already overheated, like a plane that has overshot the runway, which makes it incredibly difficult to land it softly. There’s certainly a scenario for how we could achieve that. But I think that scenario involves a lot of things going very, very well.”

Supply and demand

At the crux of current economic risk stands a glaring asymmetry between traditional supply and demand, according to Markowska and Lindsey Piegza, the chief economist at Stifel, a St. Louis-based investment bank.

A surge in demand followed a pandemic-induced flood of economic stimulus that combined with a widespread shift toward goods instead of services, as hundreds of millions across the globe facing lockdowns replaced restaurant expenditures with couches and exercise bikes. Meanwhile, that stimulus brought about a speedy economic recovery from the March 2020 downturn, triggering a hiring blitz.

But the surge in demand for goods and labor far outpaced supply, as COVID-related bottlenecks slowed delivery times and infection fears kept workers on the sidelines. In turn, prices and wages skyrocketed, ultimately prompting sky-high inflation that has not only endured for many months but gotten worse, Markowska and Piegza said.

The consumer price index, or CPI, stood at 9.1% last month, a significant increase from 8.6% in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is the largest 12-month increase since December 1981.

To avert a recession, the U.S. will need to slow demand while increasing supply, in turn bringing the two into balance, Markowska and Piegza said. But both sides of that task pose thorny problems, they added.

Interest rates

To weaken demand, the Federal Reserve has embarked on a series of hikes to its benchmark interest rate, which raises borrowing costs for consumers and businesses alike. That should slow the economy and slash demand.

Since U.S. households have stockpiled savings and the economy has accumulated millions more job openings than job seekers, in theory, the rate hikes could weaken the high demand without harming economic output, Markowska, the chief economist at Jefferies, said.

“The idea is that we can destroy that excess demand without actually destroying activity,” she said.

In reality, the task is much more difficult, Markowska said. The persistently strong economic conditions will prompt the Fed to take more aggressive action, which increases the risk of an abrupt economic slowdown that brings about a recession, she explained. For instance, in order to slow down a hot economy enough that healthy companies will abandon hiring and ease labor demand, Fed actions will likely trigger significant layoffs at other companies in a more precarious financial position, which could bring about a decline in demand that goes too far and pushes the economy toward a recession, she added.

Policymakers

Swartz, the economist at Credit Suisse, contested the view that strong economic performance raises the risk of recession. Instead, positive indicators like robust hiring show that the economy is healthier than many people think, he said.

“It’s not fully a situation where good news is bad news and bad news is good news,” he said. “All things being equal, we still like to see stronger growth.”

While demand weakens, supply will need to grow, economists said. That will require a set of outcomes that extends well beyond the control of U.S. economic policymakers, Piegza, the chief economist at Stifel, said. In order to relieve COVID-induced supply bottlenecks, countries like China will need to relax ongoing lockdowns. Moreover, a fix for global oil and agricultural shortages depends on an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, Piegza said.

“It’s out of the Fed’s control and the federal government’s,” she said. “You would need the dominos to line up with a certain level of precision.”

“That scenario has a very low probability but it’s not a zero probability,” she added.

While possible, the rosy outcome is far less likely than a downturn, Piegza said.

“Essentially, there’s a good chance, or a heightened probability, of a recession by the end of the year,” she said.

Markowska offered a slightly more optimistic forecast for the chances of a recession.

“In the next six months, I’d put it at 10%; in the next 12 months, I’d put it at 30% or 40%; in the next 24 months, I’d put it at 70%,” she said.

But she isn’t ruling out the possibility that the U.S. will avoid a recession altogether.

“We basically have to get really lucky,” she said.

Swartz, the economist at Credit Suisse who thinks the U.S. is more likely to avoid a recession than experience one, said the overall negative mood about the economy risks hurting consumer and business sentiment while helping induce a recession.

One place where that gloomy outlook can be found is on Wall Street, which saw a historic plunge in the stock market over the first half of the year. The S&P 500 — a popular index to which many 401(k) accounts are pegged — plummeted 20.6%, marking its worst first-half performance of any year since 1970.

“The general mood is obviously extremely poor,” he said. “There’s a question of whether that can become self-fulfilling.”

“That’s something we’re concerned about and contributes to heightened recession risk,” he added. “But there’s nothing automatic about it.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A moveable feast: Container farming may be a solution to US food deserts

A moveable feast: Container farming may be a solution to US food deserts
A moveable feast: Container farming may be a solution to US food deserts
ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Even near some of the busiest cities in the United States, nearly 54 million people have a tough time accessing fresh and healthy food, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

One company based in a Denver suburb said they have a solution.

Farmbox Foods in Sedalia, Colorado, turns upcycled shipping containers into vertical hydroponic farms. The company claims the containers can create as much as two football fields worth of traditional agriculture. They grow more than 400-lbs of mushrooms a week.

Rusty Walker, the CEO of Farmbox Foods, called his container boxes “modern farming spaceships.”

“This is a 40 foot high cubed, insulated container that has been repurposed and then engineered to [with] three grow walls,” Walker told ABC News’ Ginger Zee. “[We can grow] right around two and a half acres to three acres of farmland in this container.”

The United States Department of Agriculture defines “food deserts” as areas where people have limited access to a variety of healthy and affordable food. There are approximately 6,500 food deserts in the United States based on 2002 and 2006 census data on locations of supermarkets, supercents and large grocery stores.

Often areas with a higher percentage of poverty and minority population are more likely to be food deserts, the USDA found in a 2012 study.

Walker said his moveable, temperature-controlled, farmland can be shipped and used anywhere.

“So we can be sitting or standing in this container here today and have a truck show up tomorrow and we can put it on a flatbed truck and ship it to Chicago in 48 hours later. Plug it in and it’s growing,” said Walker.

In the United States, more than 40% of the country’s freshwater is used to irrigate crops. Agriculture alone makes up at least 11% of the greenhouse gas emission in the United States, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Walker said that his system of farming only uses the freshwater equivalent of about two loads of laundry a day.

“I think the biggest thing that we have going for us is we use 3 to 5 gallons of water a day. That’s it,” said Walker. “We find that our plants are growing 3 to 4 times faster than they would in an ordinary environment. So we like to say we’re farming without harming.”

Michael Boardman is a natural grocer in Lakewood, Colorado. His grocery store uses a Farmbox Foods container and he said it gives them control over their produce supply chain.

“We’ll be harvesting, taking it directly into our store [and it’s ready] for our customers,” said Boardman, who added that the produce is fresher than traditional grocery supply chains. “[The produce is] much more nutrient dense because it hasn’t been sitting on a shelf in a warehouse. It hasn’t been shipped across the country.”

Local grocers are not the only ones who have bought into Farmbox Foods. One of the company’s biggest clients is Centura Health, a local hospital system in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Patrick Gaughan, the senior vice president and chief values integration officer at Centura Health, said they’re growing fresh produce for their patients, associates and community members who come to the hospital.

“As we grow and develop in the foods [we grow], then we’re also giving this food to the communities through local food banks, farmer’s markets, so that people can get access and the food will be available for them,” said Gaughan.

Vertical farming, like Farmbox Foods, is often criticized due to the limited amount of foods that can be produced. But Farmbox Foods told ABC News that they are expanding quickly and have been testing carrots, potatoes and radishes.

Gaughan said the ready access to fresh food will only make a stronger and healthier community — all year round.

“We can tie food insecurity and poor nutrition to things like diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, even mental health,” he said. “We can introduce people to a whole different way of getting their food, tasting their food, using their food in a culturally respective way, but also in a way that’s affordable and available year round.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Viral ‘cash stuffing’ trend encourages people to save money: Here’s how to do it

Viral ‘cash stuffing’ trend encourages people to save money: Here’s how to do it
Viral ‘cash stuffing’ trend encourages people to save money: Here’s how to do it
Catherine McQueen/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Are you looking for ways to take control of your budget or save for the future?

According to a viral hashtag with more than 376 million views on TikTok, you can accomplish both and all you need is some old-fashioned cash and a set of envelopes.

TikTokers swear by the concept of cash stuffing. It’s a technology-free way to budget and plan out your finances that’s similar to the “developing” method.

How to cash stuff

You can start by dividing up your set of envelopes into categories and labeling them. For example, date night, bills, utilities, etc.

From there, you then divide up your hard-earned cash into the respective category or envelope it will be allotted to.

“I swiped my card way too much,” TikTok cash stuffer Stephanie Garcia told ABC News’ Good Morning America.

Since she began stuffing, Garcia said she managed to keep her debt low and also saved over $10,000 for the future.

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