nbc nightly news with lester holt good evening. firebrand former donald trump adviser steve bannon was found guilty this afternoon on two charges of criminal contempt of congress for defying subpoenas to appear before the january 6th select committee a federal prosecutor saying the defendant chose allegiance to donald trump over compliance with the law. the verdict coming less than 24 hours after a primetime session of the committee featured testimony from former white house insiders describing indifference by former president trump as deadly violence was rocking the u.s. capitol. tonight with the investigation reaching a turning point, the committee sending a strong message through steve bannon, who himself is still pushing back let s begin with pete williams reporter: just shy of three hours after getting the case, the jury came back with its verdict, guilty on two counts for refusing to provide testimony and documents to the committee investigating the capitol riot w
Lawyers say they ll appeal because the judge said bannon s reasons for not complying didn t matter legally that can t be the standard in a case, especially in a case that holds the potential for a jail sentence reporter: bannon will be sentenced in october and is likely to get some jail time. another former trump adviser, peter navarro, faces trial on similar contempt charges in november. lester all right, pete williams starting us off. thanks this evening, new calls by members of the january 6th committee for a criminal investigation of donald trump after last night s explosive testimony. here s kristen welker. reporter: tonight, january 6th committee members are intensifying pressure on the justice department to investigate former president trump after its high-stakes hearing thursday night. i sure as hell hope that merrick garland has an open criminal investigation into donald trump. reporter: it all comes amid new revelations at the hearing overnight including these o
Allegations he stoked rioters, saying all hell is going to break loose tomorrow the punishment he now faces. the growing fallout, the january 6th committee stepping up calls for an investigation into trump after powerful new testimony about his inaction that day. a former white house official saying trump poured gasoline on the fire with a tweet about vice president pence. secret service agents guarding pence fearing for their lives, making good-bye calls to loved ones. president biden s covid battle, speaking today saying he feels better than he sounds. his doctor saying he s improving. my interview with dr. fauci. the deadly heat wave, 75 million under heat alerts from coast to coast new records expected this weekend and the growing concerns about outdoor events it s the summer of lost luggage pileups how to reduce the risk that your bags will wind up in a baggage graveyard. and the record-breaking moment for the american who says he s the fastest man in the world announc
Investigating the capitol riot which wanted to know about his contacts with president trump and others leading up to it steve bannon s lawyers did not call any witnesses, instead urging the judge to throw the case out arguing that the government failed to prove that he intentionally refused to comply. at first they said bannon couldn t obey the subpoena because former president trump asserted executive privilege. later they said he never declined to cooperate, he was just negotiating. then today they suggested the subpoena was issued without following the rules. but prosecutors said the case was simple, bannon received a valid subpoena from the january 6th committee and refused to provide anything in response the jury agreed. bannon didn t take the stand during the trial, but he did his talking outside, blasting the committee members who the judge said couldn t be compelled to appear. the gutless members of that show trial committee, the j-6 committee, didn t have the guts to come do