- Steve Bannon has spoken outside court after each day of his trial, but he won't take the stand.
- Bannon also will not call his lawyer Robert Costello, who was identified as a possible witness.
- His lawyer David Schoen confirmed in court that the defense would not present a case.
Steve Bannon will not testify in his own defense or call any witness at his trial on contempt of Congress charges, a lawyer for the longtime ally to Donald Trump said in court Thursday.
As the fourth day of Bannon's trial began, his lawyer David Schoen confirmed that the onetime top Trump advisor would not take the stand to recount his dealings with the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Bannon had identified Robert Costello, a lawyer who represented him before the House committee, as a potential witness ahead of trial. But Schoen said the defense team would not call any witnesses.
"You're not intending to put on any evidence to the jury?" asked Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee confirmed in 2019.
"Correct, your honor," Schoen said.
The question of whether Bannon would testify hung over his trial, as defense lawyers protested being "handcuffed" by a series of rulings that limited their potential arguments. Among the arguments Nichols prevented was any claim that executive privilege excused Bannon's refusal to appear before the House January 6 committee.
While he elected not to testify in court, Bannon has displayed no bashfulness outside of it. After each day of his trial, he has emerged from the courthouse and railed against the House January 6 committee, calling its leader — Rep. Bennie Thompson — a "disgrace" and accusing the panel's members of lacking the "guts" to testify against him.
Bannon's decision not to present a defense means that closing arguments could unfold as early as Thursday afternoon. The jury will begin deliberations following those arguments and instructions from Nichols.
A grand jury indicted Bannon in November on a pair of contempt of Congress charges, within weeks of the House voting to hold him in contempt over his defiance of the nine-member panel investigating the Capitol attack and Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
On Wednesday, prosecutors rested their case after calling a top lawyer for the House committee, Kristin Amerling, and FBI agent Stephen Hart to testify. In their questioning of Amerling, prosecutors sought to underscore the House committee's interest in Bannon based on his activities leading up to January 6.
Bannon's lawyers, in their own questioning of Amerling, raised his recent offer to testify before the House committee after months of stonewalling the panel. Explaining the reversal, Bannon pointed to a letter from Trump — about a week before trial — purporting to waive executive privilege.
Prosecutors objected to Bannon's defense team raising the recent offer to testify after all before the House January 6 committee. But after it came into evidence, they attempted to turn it against Bannon, underscoring how he only made the offer as his trial on criminal charges drew near.