US District Judge Carl Nichols who is presiding over the trial of former White House strategist Steve Bannon has allowed a 9 July letter from former POTUS Donald Trump into evidence, the New York Post reports.
Bannon, who at present is standing trial on charges of contempt of Congress after dodging a subpoena from the January 6 Committee, has pleaded not guilty and claimed that he avoided the panel only because his “former boss” told him not to cooperate, the newspaper notes.
The letter from Trump, however, reportedly gave his former strategist a green light to testify before the committee investigating the US Capitol riot of 6 January, leading Bannon to change his stance on the matter and express a willingness to cooperate with the panel.
Judge Nichols, however, told the jury that they shouldn’t consider Bannon’s claim of confidential communications with Trump as an excuse for non-compliance, the newspaper points out.
Although the prosecution rested its case after calling only two witnesses - the committee staff director and general counsel Kristin Amerling, and an FBI special agent who investigated Bannon’s defiance of the subpoena - the defense announced that they want to ask the judge on Thursday to dismiss charges against Bannon.