Bannon pushes for documents in court case to be released

Former Trump White House adviser Stephen Bannon is reportedly pushing for documents to be released in his court case on contempt-of-Congress charges, with lawyers indicating he wants to use them in his defense.

Bannon has moved to oppose a standard protective order for discovery instated by a district court judge, which prohibits either side in his case of releasing documents publicly, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

“Members of the public should make their own independent judgment as to whether the U.S. Department of Justice is committed to a just result based upon all the facts,” a statement on behalf of Bannon and given to the Post read, according to the newspaper.

“In the opposition filed today, Mr. Bannon asked the judge to follow the normal process and allow unfettered access to and use of the documents,” it continued.

Bannon pleaded not guilty to contempt of Congress charges after he refused to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The former top White House strategist was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month after failing to appear for an Oct. 14 deposition before the panel and another for refusal to provide documents.

Attorneys representing the government in Bannon’s district court case have said there are “less than 20 documents” that need to be provided, but Bannon’s legal team has argued there are more that it would need to locate, the Post reported.

“The Government offered no reason why it wanted to limit Mr. Bannon’s attorneys in their use of the documents to prepare a defense,” the statement to the Post read.

After being indicted, Bannon stopped in front of a federal courthouse and said his case was “going to be the misdemeanor from hell” for Democrats and those who have sought to investigate and prosecute him.

“Not just Trump people and not just conservatives — every progressive, every liberal in this country that likes freedom of speech and liberty should be fighting for this case. That’s why I’m here today: for everybody. I’m never going to back down,” he said.

—Updated at 12:33 p.m.

Tags Donald Trump Right-wing populism in the United States Steve Bannon Steve Bannon

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