Steve Bannon suffers another trial defeat as judge strikes down 'political circus'

U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by Donald Trump, ruled against Steve Bannon, an ex-adviser to the former president, on Wednesday and cautioned him not to turn his trial into a "political circus."

Prosecutor Amanda Vaughn told Nichols that Bannon's attorneys appeared to be trying to inject politics into his trial for contempt of Congress. She said Bannon's lawyers have been suggesting that it is a "politically motivated prosecution."

"At the end of the back and forth between her and Bannon's team over what extent his attorney's questioning can suggest bias, US District Judge Carl Nichols stated a commitment to not allow the trial to become 'a political circus, a forum for partisan politics,'" CNN reported.

"After hearing more from Vaughn, Nichols set limits on questions about political bias: The defense may ask questions that may go to how a particular witness is biased, but not ask questions about how someone else was biased in action they took outside the courtroom," the report said.

For his part, Bannon has used press conferences on each day of the trial to rail against the House Jan. 6 Select Committee.