US prosecutors are trying to stop the media circus that Steve Bannon set up about the operation against him

German Badinger

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Prosecutors in the case against former President Donald Trump’s adviser Steve Bannon are accused of trying to try his criminal case through the media rather than the court, saying his tactics may influence witnesses against him, according to a new report in a district court. Washington.

Bannon is trying to persuade the judge not to prevent him and his lawyer from sharing the public documents he receives from the Ministry of Justice prior to his trial.

Steve Bannon pleads not guilty to contempt of congressional accusations

Justice Department prosecutors said in a filing Sunday that some of those records should remain classified while the process is in progress, because they include internal communications between congressional staff and notes from FBI interviews with witnesses who could testify against Bannon at trial.

Allowing the defendant to publicly disclose witness statement reports would have the side effect of witness tampering, as it would expose witnesses to public comment on their potential testimony before trial and allow the witness to review summaries of statements of other witnesses recounting the same event or events,” prosecutors wrote on Sunday. .

The Media Circus of Steve Bannon

Bannon is charged with two counts of contempt of Congress, for failing to testify or turn over documents in response to a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. He pleaded not guilty. The defense team and the plaintiffs are due to appear in court again on December 7, when they will discuss a trial date and possibly return to discuss issues of case confidentiality.

It is not publicly known which witnesses the FBI interviewed about Steve Bannon.

Liz Cheney asks if Trump orchestrated an attack on the Capitol 1:13

In the new court filing, members of the Washington, DC Attorney General’s Office, Amanda Vaughn, JP Cooney and Molly Gaston, are privately opposed to Steve Bannon speaking publicly about his case, even out of court after his initial appearance, as he has said the legal team will be on the offensive and the trial is against him. It would be “hell” for the Biden administration.

The plaintiffs also said that their attorneys were not involved in good faith negotiations over the confidentiality order proposed in the case, as the judge overseeing the process wanted.

“The defense’s misleading statements, lack of consultation, unwarranted opposition to everything, and extrajudicial statements illustrate the true purpose of the defense: the misuse of criminal investigation to judge this case in the media rather than in the courts,” the plaintiffs wrote.