Trump ally Bannon talks tough after court appearance
Associated PressWASHINGTON — Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon appeared before a judge on Monday to face criminal contempt charges for defying a subpoena from Congress’ Jan. 6 committee, then declared combatively outside court that he was “taking on the Biden regime” in fighting the charges. Some in the crowd shouted expletives at him and called him a traitor, and one man paraded around with a sign that read: “Clowns are not above the law.” The indictment came as a second expected witness, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, defied a separate subpoena from the committee on Friday and as Trump has escalated his legal battles to withhold documents and testimony about the insurrection. Bannon promoted the Jan. 6 protests on his podcast after predicting the day before that “all hell is going to break loose.” The committee said that Bannon urged Trump to focus on the congressional certification and was present at an event at the Willard Hotel on Jan. 5 in which Trump allies tried to persuade members of Congress to vote against the results. Bannon’s lawyer, David Schoen said his client didn’t appear before Congress because he was told by another lawyer not to come after Trump claimed executive privilege would apply.