Steve Bannon Expected to Appear as Government Witness in Roger Stone's Trial
Bannon, a former White House chief strategist for Trump, was not subpoenaed for his testimony, according to a person familiar with the arrangement.
October 25, 2019 at 06:34 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal
Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon is expected to appear as a witness for the government during Roger Stone's trial next month, a person familiar with the arrangement said Friday.
Bannon was not subpoenaed for his testimony, the person said. Bannon's inclusion on the witness list could indicate that more information about Stone's contacts with the Trump campaign over WikiLeaks may be revealed during the trial.
Bannon appeared to be referenced in special counsel Robert Mueller III's indictment of Stone earlier this year, as a high-ranking Trump campaign official who reached out to Stone "about the status of future releases by" WikiLeaks. The former White House chief strategist has not been charged in relation to Stone's case.
Bannon is represented by William Burck of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
Stone's attorney Bruce Rogow did not immediately return a request for comment. A representative for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, which is prosecuting the case, did not return a request for comment.
Bannon and Stone were in touch during the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, according to emails obtained by The New York Times, as Stone suggested he had prior knowledge about WikiLeaks' release of damaging information on Trump opponent Hillary Clinton.
Bannon's appearance in Stone's trial would come as the former Trump White House official is in the midst of an attempted comeback to D.C. The former Trump campaign official and ex-head of conservative news outlet Breitbart was fired from the White House in 2017, but is now reportedly seeking to defend the president as he faces an impeachment inquiry.
Stone's indictment alleged the longtime GOP operative and one-time Trump campaign adviser "was contacted by senior Trump Campaign officials to inquire about future releases by" WikiLeaks.
It also claimed that a Trump campaign official was "directed" to ask Stone "about any additional releases and what other damaging information [WikiLeaks] had regarding the Clinton Campaign."
Stone, who has pleaded not guilty, is charged with making false statements during testimony with the House Intelligence Committee about his contacts with WikiLeaks. He claimed that he had a "back-channel" to the group who told him about upcoming email dumps of damaging information about Clinton.
It's unclear who else will appear during Stone's trial. Rogow suggested during a pretrial hearing last month that Bannon, as well as former Stone associate Jerome Corsi and ex-Trump campaign official Rick Gates could be among those tapped to testify during the trial.
Both Corsi and another former Stone associate, Randy Credico, were two unnamed individuals mentioned throughout Stone's indictment. Both have said that if Corsi were subpoenaed for testimony in Stone's trial, he would comply.
Credico's attorney, Martin Stolar, said in April that his client received a subpoena to appear on the first day of Stone's trial and intends to comply.
Larry Klayman, Corsi's attorney, did not immediately return a request for comment on whether a subpoena has been issued for Corsi's testimony.
However, Corsi and Stone are facing off in other litigation, including a defamation lawsuit, which could impact whether the government is confident in calling Corsi as a witness.
Stone is under a gag order and is not permitted to publicly discuss his case. He is not allowed to use Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. He appeared on InfoWars on Friday, where he spoke at length about the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
"There are certain topics I cannot address and I don't intend to do so today," Stone said toward the start of his appearance. "I am permitted to talk about American politics and the current state of affairs."
Stone's trial is set to begin on Nov. 5 and is expected to last about two weeks.
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