Bannon’s defense attorney, David Schoen, argued that the recent release of Mother Jones audio could bias potential jurors. In the recording, he predicted days before the 2020 election that President Trump would declare victory on election night, appearing to lead after mail-in votes expected to favor Joe Biden would be counted more slowly by several battleground states.
“What Trump is going to do is just declare victory. Right? He’s going to declare victory. But that doesn’t mean he’s a winner,” Bannon told a group of people in the audio released by Mother Jones. “He’ll just say he’s a winner.”
Schoen also argued that the committee’s Jan. 6 hearing Tuesday, in which his “all hell will break loose” statement was aired, would bias jurors.
Nichols rejected all of these arguments and responded that the jury selection process is the best solution to prejudice.
The House select committee subpoenaed Bannon in September 2021 amid reports that he had urged former President Trump to focus on Jan. 6 — when Congress would receive Electoral College ballots and confirm Mr. Biden’s victory — and tried to convince members of Congress to vote against the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
Bannon’s defense team has already informed the court that it plans to appeal either before or after his trial.
But the judge left the door open, for now, to allow Bannon to present evidence to jurors about his 11th-hour offer to testify at the Jan. 6 committee. Schoen said they plan to argue that Bannon believed the committee’s Oct. 14, 2021, subpoena deadline was “flexible” or “negotiable.”
Nichols said he would rule on the “deadline” defense next week, but wanted to hear an argument from Bannon first.
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