Steve Bannon says he'll fight a judge's ruling that he must report to prison by July 1 to serve his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the US Capitol insurrection. Photo / New York Post via AP, Pool
Steve Bannon says he'll fight a judge's ruling that he must report to prison by July 1 to serve his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the US Capitol insurrection. Photo / New York Post via AP, Pool
Trump ally Steve Bannon must report to prison by July 1 to serve a four-month sentence.
Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena.
His defence argues the charges are politically motivated and unjust.
Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former US President Donald Trump, must report to prison by July 1 to serve his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the US Capitol insurrection, a federal judge has ruled.
US District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington granted prosecutors’ request to make Bannon begin serving his prison term after a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court last month upheld his contempt of Congress conviction.
But Nichols also made clear in his ruling that Bannon could seek a stay of his order, which could delay his surrender date.
Outside the courthouse, Bannon told reporters: “I’ve got great lawyers, and we’re going to go all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to.”
Nichols, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, a Republican, had initially allowed Bannon to remain free while he fought his conviction.
But the panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit said all of Bannon’s challenges lack merit.
Bannon was convicted in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition with the January 6 House Committee and the other for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement in Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks to the media alongside his attorney Todd Blanche after the conclusion of his hush money trial. Photo / AP
Bannon’s lawyer at trial argued that the charges were politically motivated and that the former adviser didn’t ignore the subpoena but was still engaged in good-faith negotiations with the congressional committee when he was charged.
The defence has said Bannon had been acting on the advice of his attorney at the time, who told him that the subpoena was invalid because the committee would not allow a Trump lawyer in the room and that Bannon could not determine what documents or testimony he could provide because Trump has asserted executive privilege.
Defence lawyer David Schoen told the judge the defence had planned to ask the full US Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, if necessary, to review the matter.
Schoen said it would be unfair to send Bannon to prison now because he would have already completed his sentence before those rulings could be handed down.
“That might serve a political agenda; but it would be a grave injustice,” Schoen wrote in court papers.
A second Trump aide, trade adviser Peter Navarro, was also convicted of contempt of Congress and reported to prison in March to serve his four-month sentence.
Navarro had maintained that he couldn’t cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege.
But courts have rejected that argument, finding Navarro couldn’t prove Trump had actually invoked it.
The House January 6 committee’s final report asserted that Trump criminally engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 election and failed to act to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol, concluding an extraordinary 18-month investigation into the former president and the violent insurrection two years ago.
