On January 12, 2023, Steve Bannon appeared in a New York court. to complete a four-month sentence for contempt of court summons.
Steven Hirsch/Pool New York Post Photo credit: AP
hide title
Switch title
Steven Hirsch/Pool New York Post Photo credit: AP
WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled Thursday that Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, must report to prison by July 1 to serve a four-month sentence for ignoring Subpoena from House committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Last month, a federal appeals court panel upheld Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction, and Washington District Judge Carl Nichols granted the Justice Department’s request to let Bannon begin serving his sentence.
Bannon is expected to seek a stay of the judge’s order, which could delay his surrender date.
“I have great lawyers and we will appeal all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary,” Bannon told reporters outside the courthouse. “No prison is ever built,” he added. “Shut up.”
In a social media post on Thursday, Trump accused prosecutors of being “reckless” in jailing Bannon. Trump reiterated his claim that Republicans are being persecuted by a politically motivated justice system – comments that have grown since the Republican presidential candidate was convicted on 34 felonies in a New York hush-money trial last week non-stop upgradin.
Nichols, who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2018, was the judge who ordered Bannon to report to prison.
Bannon was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress nearly two years ago: one for refusing to testify before a House committee on Jan. 6, and another for refusing to provide documents related to his role in Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden.
Nichols initially allowed him to remain free during his plea because the judge found the case raised substantial legal issues. But during a hearing in federal court in Washington, Nichols said that changed after an appeals court panel said all of Bannon’s challenges lacked merit.
“I don’t believe the original foundation for my stay is no longer there,” Nichols said.
Bannon can appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prosecutor John Crabb told the judge it was “unlikely” Bannon would succeed in having his conviction quashed.
Bannon’s lawyers argued at trial that the former adviser did not ignore the subpoena but was still negotiating in good faith with congressional committees when he was charged.
The defense said Bannon was acting on the advice of his lawyers, who told him the subpoena was invalid because the committee would not allow Trump lawyers into the room and Bannon could not determine what documents or testimony he could provide. Assert executive privilege.
Defense attorney David Schoen told the judge it would be unfair to send Bannon to prison now because he will serve out his entire sentence before exhausting his appeals. Schoen said the case raised “serious constitutional issues” that needed to be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
“In this country, if anyone believes that what they are doing is within the law, we are not going to send them to jail,” he told reporters.
Trump’s second aide, trade adviser Peter Navarro, was also found guilty of contempt of Congress. He reported to prison in March to serve a four-month sentence.
Navarro also insisted he could not cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. But the court rejected that argument, finding that Navarro could not prove that Trump actually invoked it.
The House committee’s final report on Jan. 6 said Trump committed a “multiple conspiracy” to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election and failed to take action to stop his supporters from attacking the Capitol, ending an 18-month period of extraordinary violence. Unusual investigation into former president and violent insurrection.
Bannon also faces criminal charges in New York state court alleging that he defrauded donors who funded the construction of a wall on the U.S. southern border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges, and the trial has been postponed until at least the end of September.
