A judge on Monday (July 11) refused to delay the start of the trial of Steve Bannon, a close ally of Donald Trump charged with "
obstructing congressional investigative powers
", despite his recent offer to cooperate with the commission investigating the former president. .
“
I see no reason to delay this case any longer
,” Judge Carl Nichols said, according to multiple US media.
A “last minute turnaround”
Steve Bannon, former adviser to Donald Trump, is being prosecuted for refusing for months to cooperate with a group of elected officials seeking to shed light on Donald Trump's responsibility in the assault on the Capitol, on January 6, 2021. The 68-year-old was charged in November 2021 and his trial was then set for July 18.
His lawyers were seeking to delay the start of the hearings in October, so that they would not take place at the same time as the public hearings of this parliamentary commission, which the judge refused.
This weekend, Steve Bannon finally did an about-face, agreeing to cooperate with the investigation, which the prosecutor perceived as a "
last minute reversal in order to avoid
" his trial.