A federal court panel rejected a last-minute appeal by Steve Bannon to delay his prison deadline as he fights his conviction for criminal contempt of Congress.
Donald Trump’s former adviser will now have to report to prison before July 1 to begin serving his four-month sentence.
Bannon’s lawyers asked the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to allow him to remain free while continuing to overturn the conviction all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.
But in a 2-1 vote, the panel said Bannon’s case “does not justify a departure from the general rule” that defendants begin serving their sentence after conviction.
Following this rejection, Bannon is expected to ask the Supreme Court to avoid his four-month prison sentence.
Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon’s appeal to be allowed to stay out of prison while he seeks to overturn his conviction for criminal contempt of Congress has been rejected by a federal court panel.
Bannon spoke with Trump at least twice on Jan. 5, attending a planning meeting at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., and saying on his podcast, “All hell will break loose tomorrow,” according to the J6 committee.
The former ally was sentenced to prison after a jury found him guilty in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to appear before the House investigation into the Jan. 6 attack and for refusing to turn over documents.
However, trial judge Carl Nichols allowed him to remain free while he appealed his conviction.
That changed two weeks ago after a higher court rejected Bannon’s appeal. Nichols said he did not believe the “original basis” for suspending the sentence already existed.
Bannon’s lawyer at trial argued that the former Trump adviser did not ignore the subpoena but was still in good faith negotiations with the congressional committee when he was indicted.
Bannon was found guilty of failing to comply with a January 6 House Committee subpoena.
The defense said it had relied on the advice of its lawyer, who believed Bannon could not testify or produce documents because Trump had invoked executive privilege.
Bannon’s lawyers previously said the case raises serious legal questions that would likely have to be resolved by the Supreme Court, but that he would have already served his prison sentence by the time the case gets there.
In court papers, Bannon’s lawyers further said there is a “strong public interest” in allowing him to remain free in the run-up to the 2024 election because of Bannon’s role as a top adviser on the Trump campaign.
His lawyers have also argued that the Justice Department is “giving the appearance that the government is trying to prevent Bannon from fully assisting the campaign and speaking out on important issues, and also ensuring that the government demands its pound of flesh before the possible end of the Biden Administration” by trying to imprison him now.
But prosecutors disagree, saying in court papers that Bannon’s “role in political speech” is irrelevant.
Tear gas is fired into a crowd of protesters, one wielding a Confederate battle flag reading “Come and take it”, during clashes with Capitol Police at a demonstration to challenge the certification of the US presidential election results of 2020 by the United States Congress. at the US Capitol building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021
‘Bannon also cannot reconcile his claim for special treatment with the fundamental principle of equal justice under the law. “The impartial application of the bail statute requires that Bannon remain detained,” prosecutors wrote.
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 court last week after he was ordered to prison.
‘There is nothing that can silence me and nothing that can silence me. “There hasn’t been a prison or a jail built that will ever shut me up,” he said, as one protester held a sign that said “Lock them up.”
‘They are not going to silence Trump. They are not going to silence Navarro. “They’re not going to silence Bannon, and they’re certainly not going to silence MAGA,” he said.
