
Judge again rejects Bannon trial delay request but opens door to possible new defense argument
CNN
A federal judge is keeping the door open for Steve Bannon to use a potential new defense argument where he could present his recent bid to testify for the House January 6 committee to the jury when he goes on trial on contempt of Congress charges next week for his failure to comply with a committee subpoena last year.
US District Judge Carl Nichols said at pretrial hearing Thursday that he is not deciding yet whether to let that evidence be admitted. But by not immediately shutting down Bannon's efforts to present that evidence, Nichols kept the possibility open that Bannon might have an additional defense to put forward at next week's trial.
The judge had previously dealt multiple blows to Bannon's defense, shutting down several avenues his attorneys hoped to use to defend his failure to appear for testimony before the committee last year and produce the documents it demanded. At a hearing earlier this week, his attorney David Schoen even wondered aloud: "What's the point of going to trial here if there is no defense?"

The White House is making clear it views President Donald Trump’s Friday Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an overwhelming win underscoring Trump’s “America First” leadership, dispatching top officials and allies on the airwaves to amplify Trump’s handling of the situation even as European leaders are putting on a key show of force of unity for Ukraine and its leader.