Supporters of former White House senior advisor Stephen Bannon rally outside the United States District Court House during jury selection in his trial on July 18, 2022 in Washington, DC.

Supporters of former White House senior advisor Stephen Bannon rally outside the United States District Court House during jury selection in his trial on July 18, 2022 in Washington, DC. / Getty Images

Dozens of prospective jurors filed into a federal courthouse just down the street from the U.S. Capitol on Monday on the first day of the trial of former Trump political adviser Steve Bannon, who's charged with contempt of Congress for flouting subpoenas from the House select committee investigating January 6th.

They were asked a lot of questions about Bannon, a conservative media star, such as whether they've written or said anything about him, and also about the committee, which is expected to wrap up its summer hearings on its investigation into the Capitol attack this week.

As spectators and press crammed into the courthouse for the high-profile case, the potential jurors patiently waited in hallways, reading their phones, or books or magazines.

With jury selection taking up most of Monday, opening arguments are expected on Tuesday in what appears to be a speedy trial. The whole government case could take just one day, as prosecutors have only a few witnesses, including an FBI agent and the general counsel of the House Select Committee on January 6th. It is still not clear if Bannon will testify in his defense.

Bannon faces two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for blowing off the House panel's demands for documents and testimony about the January 6, 2021, siege on the Capitol. Trump supporters, including members of extremist groups, broke through barricades that day with the aim of overturning the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost.

Bannon has said that when he did not honor the subpoenas he was following orders from former President Donald Trump who asserted executive privilege. But Judge Carl Nichols, Trump appointee , didn't see it that way.

First, Trump's lawyer says that isn't what happened and Trump did not assert the privilege when it came to Bannon. The privilege is supposed to protect confidential conversations among people in the government, but Bannon had been gone from the White House for over a year.

Also, President Joe Biden has said that the privilege should not hield information about the Capitol rioters or those who may have helped plot the worst attack on the government since the war of 1812.

Even though he didn't comply with the subpoena, the Jan. 6 committee has still shown footage of Bannon and discussed him at its hearings this summer.

The House panel found phone records suggesting Bannon had at least two calls with Trump on Jan. 5, 2021, the day before the attack. The panel wants to dig into remarks he made on his podcast after the first conversation, when he said that "all hell is going to break loose tomorrow" and called Jan. 6 "game day."

The committee also is looking into whether he was more involved in the planning of the riot, which left more than 140 law enforcement officers injured and several people dead in the days that followed.

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