Bannon’s escape plan: how the Trump strategist is trying to dodge prison

Bannon is advancing a high-stakes defense as he battles a case that could mean up to a year in federal prison and thousands of dollars in fines if convicted

As the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack was negotiating with Donald Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon to cooperate with its inquiry, the panel affirmed one of their rules: no third-party lawyers could attend witness depositions.

That meant when Bannon's then-attorney asked whether a lawyer for Trump could be present for the closed-door interview to decide what issues were covered by the former president's invocation of executive privilege, the select committee flatly refused.

Now, that refusal appears set to feature as one of Bannon's central arguments to defend against his contempt of Congress indictment that came after he entirely skipped his deposition last October and refused to produce documents as required by his subpoena.