Bannon must surrender to prison by July 1 to begin serving his sentence, judge says

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former 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 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. United States, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington granted prosecutors’ request for Bannon to begin serving his sentence after a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court last month upheld his contempt of Congress conviction.

However, Nichols also made clear in his ruling that Bannon could request a stay of his order, which could delay his delivery date.

Outside the courthouse, Bannon told reporters: “I have excellent lawyers and we will go all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to.”

Nichols, who was nominated for the position by Trump, had allowed Bannon to remain free while he fought his conviction. But the panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said all of Bannon’s challenges lacked merit.

Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition with the January 6 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.

Bannon’s attorney at trial argued that the charges were politically motivated and that the former aide did not ignore the subpoena but was still engaging in good faith negotiations with the congressional committee when he was charged.

The defense has said that Bannon acted on the advice of his lawyer 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 could provide because Trump had asserted executive privilege.

Defense attorney David Schoen told the judge that the defense 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 served his sentence before those rulings could be issued.

“That could serve a political agenda; but it would be a grave injustice,” Schoen wrote in court documents.

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 could not cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. But the courts have rejected that argument, finding no evidence that Trump had actually invoked it.

The House committee’s Jan. 6 final report asserted that Trump criminally participated in a “multi-party conspiracy” to overturn legal 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.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to the newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.