The federal judge overseeing Stephen K. Bannon’s criminal contempt of Congress case warned that he would not allow the trial to devolve into a “political circus” as the trial against the former Trump adviser entered its third day on Wednesday.
Before the jury entered the courtroom to continue hearing testimony from the prosecution’s first witness, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Vaughn raised concerns before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols about what she said were attempts by Mr. Bannon’s defense team to paint the motivations of the House Jan. 6 Committee as political, which she said should be barred in arguments before the jury.