Bannon Restricted From Publicizing DOJ Evidence in Contempt Case

Erik Larson

11 Dec 2021, 02:03 AM IST

(Bloomberg) -- A federal judge placed limits on how former Trump campaign chairman Steve Bannon can use information handed over by the U.S. Justice Department in the criminal case over his refusal to cooperate with a congressional probe into Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington on Friday granted most of what federal prosecutors asked for in a so-called protective order they sought for internal records from the House select committee probing the assault.

Prosecutor told Nichols at a hearing this week that an order was needed because Bannon had said he’d use the documents to make the case “hell” for Democrats investigating what led to the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters.

Bannon and his lawyers “shall not disclose the materials or their contents directly or indirectly to any person or entity other than persons employed to assist in the defense” as well as potential witnesses and their lawyers, Nichols said. They’re also barred from making public “any notes or records of any kind that they make in relation to the contents of the materials,” the judge said.

Nichols ruled Bannon’s trial would start in July, months later than prosecutors had hoped for. Former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has also balked at the committee’s subpoenas for testimony, foreshadowing another possible criminal case.