A coalition of news outlets including the Washington Post is supporting Stephen Bannon's campaign for the release of documents related to his contempt of Congress charges, WashPost reported Wednesday.
Why it matters: WashPost, the New York Times, CNN, NBC, the Wall Street Journal's parent company and others filed a motion arguing that a proposed protective order seeking to prevent the documents from being released violates the First Amendment, per the Daily Mail, which first reported on the news.
Justice Dept wants federal judge to ensure a "protective order" over sensitive materials & evidence in Bannon's case, to prevent Bannon from trying the case "in the media', prevent "witness tampering" and prevent turning case into ..... the misdemeanor from "hell" pic.twitter.com/rBGDf2d8bD
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) November 29, 2021
Driving the news: The documents include information related to the discovery process in the prosecution of Bannon for his failure to comply with a House Jan. 6 select committee subpoena — among them over 1,000 pages of witness testimony and grand-jury proceedings.
- Prosecutors argued in a motion Sunday that Bannon was seeking to "try this case in the media rather than in court."
What they're saying: Journalists would also be "unable to see the documents if the Justice Department prevails in persuading a judge to impose a protective order," WashPost writes.
- Attorneys for the news outlets said in their brief that the proposed order was "overbroad" and " would limit what the public could learn about the government’s case," according to WashPost.
For the record: BuzzFeed News, NPR, CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Gannett Co., ProPublica, E.W. Scripps Co., Gray Media Group and Tegna Inc. have also joined the legal challenge, WashPost notes.
The big picture: A grand jury indicted Bannon last month on two counts of contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with a House Jan. 6 select committee subpoena.
- The panel has subpoenaed dozens of former Trump aides as part of its investigation into the U.S. Capitol insurrection.
- Representatives for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
