Trump adviser Steve Bannon claims he's not guilty of contempt for defying Jan. 6 subpoenas because he was acting on an attorney's advice.
"His lawyers advised him not to show up for his interview with congressional staff or turn over the requested material because former President Trump wanted to claim executive privilege," CBS News reported Friday, noting that Trump's claims of executive privilege have since been rejected by multiple courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a court filing Friday in the criminal case against Bannon for contempt, his attorneys wrote, "Reliance on advice of counsel fundamentally negates guilt."
But federal prosecutors disagree, saying Bannon's "purported reliance on his counsel's erroneous advice otherwise is no defense to the crime charged."
"The deliberate failure to comply with a congressional subpoena—regardless of motivation—constitutes the crime of contempt," prosecutors wrote.
According to CBS News, the filings are a potential preview of arguments during Bannon's trial, which is set for July.
"Bannon's attorneys wrote Friday that (Bannon lawyer Steve) Costello asked the House committee to delay proceedings while the executive privilege question made its way through the courts, but the committee refused," the network reported. "The November indictment out of the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C. alleges that Bannon 'made no substantive submission for the Select Committee's deliberations, did not produce documents and communications, did not provide a log of withheld records, did not certify that he had conducted a diligent search for responsive records, did not appear for a deposition, and did not comply with the subpoena in any way.'"
