RAILROADED: Judge shreds Bannon defenses ahead of contempt trial

A federal judge on Monday eviscerated nearly all of Steve Bannon’s defenses against a charge that he criminally defied a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee, leaving the longtime Donald Trump ally with few options to fight the contempt of Congress case against him.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also denied Bannon’s bid to postpone for three months the jury trial set to open next Monday, rejecting defense arguments that such a delay was warranted due to intense media coverage around the ongoing House hearings on the Capitol siege. Bannon’s attorneys contended Trump’s sudden move to abandon executive privilege claims for Bannon should also spark a delay, but the judge rejected that as well.

The Trump-appointed judge said thorough questioning of potential jurors could almost certainly resolve potential prejudice. And if it couldn’t, Nichols added, he would revisit the issue after jury selection.