Steve Bannon pledged he'd go 'medieval' at his trial — but it hasn't turned out that way

Former Donald Trump campaign manager Steve Bannon promised that he would go "medieval" in court once he was going to trial for his contempt of Congress case. While he never fully explained what he meant by that, the case appears to be closer to medieval torture than a medieval knight.

Already the judge in the case has suggested that Bannon accept a plea agreement and Bannon's own lawyer admitted that he has no defense. Bannon's own podcast declared him guilty while he was in court Monday.

Jury selection began Monday and while Bannon pledged to make his trial the "misdemeanor from hell" for President Joe Biden, that has yet to manifest into reality.

READ: 'Case closed': Steve Bannon's podcast declares him guilty as he sits at trial for contempt

BusinessInsider crafted a list of people to watch in the trial, suggesting that beyond the judge, the lawyers, prosecutors and Bannon himself, Robert Costello a lawyer and trial witness for Bannon is among those to keep an eye on. Costello was a lawyer for Bannon for the Jan. 6 stuff, but now will become a witness after withdrawing as a lawyer.

Costello previously was under attorney/client privilege so it's unclear if he is now waiving that privilege to testify for Bannon. Doing so means the prosecutors can ask their own questions about things that would normally be privileged.

"In earlier court proceedings, the judge bristled at how the Justice Department seized Costello's email and phone logs as part of the investigation into Bannon. The search for those records inadvertently ensnared the records of others who share Costello's name," the report recalled.

It was just a year ago that two assistant U.S. attorneys anticipated how Bannon's trial would go.

"In our view, this is a very straightforward case about whether or not the defendant showed up," said assistant US attorney Amanda Vaughn last year. She and another prosecutor said in documents that the Justice Department needs "one day of testimony" to prove his guilt.

Read the full details at Insider.

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