Steve Bannon’s team has announced they will not defend themselves in his trial where the former aide to President Trump is being charged with contempt of Congress.
This means it is possible that jury deliberations may begin today.
But there are other procedural steps and pending motions that the judge and the parties have yet to go through before the proceedings reach that point.
Now that U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols has declared a recess, he has ordered the parties to hold a final round of discussions about jury instructions, and they will then submit their opinions to the judge.
When proceedings resume at 1:00 PM ET, the parties will discuss—without the jury present—what the defense team will tell the jury about Bannon’s decision not to testify, as well as the lack of testimony from Chairman Bennie Thompson or other lawmakers who tried to sue Bannon’s team for a trial.
There is also a motion pending related to Bannon’s attempts to get a statement from lawmakers at the trial, which will also be debated.
After that point, the proceedings may be at a point to give the jury their instructions and for the parties to make their closing arguments. Jury consultation would then be the next step.
Some trials have entire mornings or afternoons devoted to closing arguments. But this trial was short, with only two witnesses. And opening statements lasted less than 40 minutes in total, meaning the closings could also be relatively short.
