- Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress
- Prosecutors want him to go to prison after the appeals court upheld the sentence.
Donald Trump’s former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon must report to prison to begin his four-month sentence for contempt of Congress under a new order from a federal judge Thursday.
The longtime Trump adviser has until July 1 to surrender to authorities, according to a ruling by Judge Carl Nichols.
Bannon returned to a D.C. courtroom on Thursday, where prosecutors urged the federal judge to send him to prison immediately.
Bannon was previously sentenced in October 2022 to four months in prison after being found guilty of contempt of Congress for failing to provide information or testimony to the House January 6 Committee.
His attorneys are appealing the ruling by a three-judge appeals court panel and asked Nichols to allow him to remain free pending a trial that could go before the full appeals court or even the U.S. Supreme Court. Joined.
Nichols, appointed by Donald Trump, will allow Bannon to appeal his latest order ending a stay on his sentence. He said he did not believe the reason for suspending the sentence “already existed.”
The measure, if upheld, would leave Bannon in prison on July 11, when Trump has a sentencing hearing following his conviction on 34 charges in the Stormy Daniels case.
Lawyers for former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon are urging Judge Carl Nichols not to immediately send him to prison pending further appeals.
The judge previously agreed to postpone sentencing pending appeal. The judge is hearing arguments on the matter in open court.
Another former Trump adviser, economic adviser Peter Navarro, is currently serving a four-month sentence in a Florida prison after being convicted of similar charges. Navarro helped promote a plan he called the ‘Sweep of Green Bay’ that became part of Trump’s effort to overturn the election.
Bannon has raised a defense of his lawyer alleging that he relied on a lawyer’s advice when he failed to comply with a congressional subpoena. Trump also attempted to piece together that argument, citing Michael Cohen’s advice on Stormy Daniels’ payout.
Bannon helped lead meetings in a strategic ‘war room’ at the Willard Hotel in Washington that brought together key figures in the effort to overturn the election.
“I have excellent lawyers and, if necessary, we will go all the way to the Supreme Court,” Bannon said outside the courthouse.
He is represented by David Schoen, who represented Trump in his impeachment trial, and Evan Corchoran, who is a witness in the classified government documents case in Florida.
“The defendant preferred loyalty to Donald Trump over compliance with the law,” argued Deputy District Attorney Molly Gaston in a document filed by prosecutors, who maintain that there is “no legal basis” to keep Bannon out of prison pending of the appeal following the ruling of the appeals court panel.
Bannon was found guilty of failing to comply with a January 6 House Committee subpoena.
Bannon lost an appeal to overturn his four-month prison sentence on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), with his wife Ginger at the Congressional Picnic at the White House, called Bannon’s sentence “torture.”
Bannon is the second close Trump adviser to be ordered to prison for defying a congressional subpoena from the investigating committee on Jan. 6.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Trump ally, responded by calling Bannon’s prison sentence “torture.”
‘Steve Bannon requested a judicial review of the illegal demands of an out-of-control Congressional committee unlike any ever formed. It was literally a matter of first impression. And they are sending him to prison, not only to torture him but to torture us. He didn’t even have a real trial. “His defenses were stripped away by a judge who hates him,” wrote Gaetz, who attended the bipartisan Congressional picnic with President Biden this week.
Bannon remains a leading voice among Trump advisers and maintains his outreach to the conservative movement through his daily War Room Pandemic podcast.