Witness, prosecutor met years ago
WASHINGTON—A prosecution witness in the case against former White House aide Steve Bannon acknowledged on the stand on July 20 that she has known one of the prosecutors for some time.
The witness, Kristen Amerling, said she and one of the prosecutors “overlapped” on the House Oversight Committee while it was under the leadership of former Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.).
Amerling said she’s also been part of a book club for five years of which the prosecutor, Molly Gaston, is a member.
The club primarily comprises former aides to Waxman, she said.
Gaston did not respond to a request for comment.
Amerling said that neither of the women has attended the club at the same time in a long time.
Amerling is a lawyer working for the House of Representatives special committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. She has donated to Democrats before.
Earlier in the day, Amerling said that one of the sources of the claims presented in a letter to Bannon—who worked for the White House in the early days of the Trump administration—was a book by reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa called “Peril.” It is depicted as a nonfiction account of the transition from former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden.
“Do you read nonfiction in your book club?” asked Evan Corcoran, one of Bannon’s lawyers.
The club “generally reads fiction,” Amerling said, noting she has not participated in more than a year. “I don’t even know what they are reading now.”
After an objection was overruled, Corcoran asked if the club ever discusses “the political topics of the day.”
Members discuss “a whole range of topics,” Amerling said. “Given the careers of the folks involved in the book club, it is not unusual that we talk about politics one way or another.”
‘Unusual’
Bannon is on trial for two counts of contempt of Congress, after he declined to provide materials or testify to the Jan. 6 panel.
By John Haughey and Zachary Stieber
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