Steve Bannon found guilty of contempt of Congress

Steve Bannon’s team has flagged for the judge that Bannon was mentioned during the House Select Committee hearing Thursday night. They are asking for Judge Carl Nichols to consider quizzing jurors on whether they watched the special news coverage.

The jury has been told daily not to consume news coverage that could relate to the case, and even to turn off their phone notifications for news apps.

The House Select Committee gaveled into its prime-time hearing Thursday without a resolution in Steve Bannon’s trial — and without the information they sought from him nine months ago.

During testimony at the trial this week, a select committee staffer reaffirmed the committee is still interested in receiving information from Bannon. That wouldn't change the fact that he defaulted on the subpoena, prosecutors pointed out, but the House has made clear it's still interested in areas Bannon knows about.

Among the areas the committee wanted to explore with him: What took place at the Willard Hotel, an unofficial command center for former President Donald Trump allies hoping to overturn the election results, in the run-up to Jan. 6.

Ultimately, the topic of the Willard war room has not been deeply explored in any of the committee’s eight public hearings. And why not? The real possibility remains that Bannon’s refusal to cooperate has, at least in some areas, managed to stymy the committee’s work.

The proceedings in the trial of former President Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon gaveled in at 9:13 a.m. ET.

Jury instructions, closing arguments and deliberations are expected to happen today.

After four days of testimony, the jury is likely to hear closing arguments from both sides on Friday as Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress trial wraps up.

The jury was sent home on Thursday night to give the judge time to work on some legal decisions that need to happen at the end of the case.

Next, the jury will be instructed on how to consider the case, then hear prosecutors' and defense closing arguments Friday. After that, they will begin deliberations.

Some context: Some trials have entire mornings or afternoons dedicated to closing arguments. But this trial was short, with only two witnesses. And opening statements took fewer than 40 minutes in total, meaning the closings could be relatively brief as well.

Bannon's team earlier Thursday announced they would not call any witnesses nor would Bannon testify in his own defense.

The jury in Steve Bannon's trial on contempt of Congress charges is likely to start deliberations after hearing closing arguments from both sides on Friday.

Fourteen jurors — 9 men and 5 women — were sworn in at the federal district courthouse in Washington, DC, after being finalized on Tuesday.

The jury includes a State Department employee, an art salesperson, a NASA contractor, a doctor, an architect and a handful of DC government employees.

Some of the jurors have extensive previous experience serving on juries, according to their statements in court yesterday. The jury has 14 people because two alternates are in the pool, and won't be disclosed publicly until deliberations.

Some context: During the first portion of Monday's jury selection process, potential jurors were not pressed about their general feelings about Bannon or former President Trump.

They were, however, asked about their news consumption of the House investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection and about this case itself. Some said they'd consumed a little of the House hearings, if that.

Many of the potential jurors had said they'd heard minimally about Bannon's case, yet a large number of them had taken in at least some of the select committee's public hearings. But awareness alone wasn't enough for them to be tossed from the jury pool.