- Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress
- Prosecutors want him to go to prison after the appeals court upholds the sentence
Former Donald Trump White House chief 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.
Trump’s longtime adviser has until July 1 to surrender to authorities, under a ruling by Judge Carl Nichols.
Bannon was back in a D.C. courthouse Thursday, where prosecutors urged the federal judge to send him to prison immediately.
Bannon was previously sentenced to four months in prison in October 2022 after being convicted of contempt of Congress for failing to provide information or testimony to the House of Representatives’ January 6 committee.
His lawyers have appealed the ruling by a three-judge appeals court and asked Nichols to release him pending a trial that could go before the full appeals court or even the U.S. Supreme Court.
Nichols, a Donald Trump appointee, is allowing Bannon to appeal his latest order ending the stay on his sentence. He said he thought the reason for interrupting the sentence “no longer exists.”
If this move continues, Bannon would go to jail on July 11, when Trump has a sentencing hearing following his conviction on 34 counts in the Stormy Daniels case.
Lawyers for former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon urge Judge Carl Nichols not to immediately send him to prison pending further appeal
The judge previously agreed to postpone the sentence pending the appeal. The judge will consider the case in a public hearing.
Another former Trump aide, 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 “Green Bay Sweep” that became part of Trump’s election efforts.
Bannon has filed a defense of counsel, saying he relied on an attorney’s advice when he failed to comply with a congressional subpoena. Trump also tried to make such an argument, citing Michael Cohen’s advice in the Stormy Daniels payout.
Bannon helped lead meetings in a strategic “war room” at Washington’s Willard Hotel, where key campaign figures gathered.
“The defendant chose loyalty to Donald Trump over compliance with the law,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Gaston argued in a filing from prosecutors, who argue there is “no legal basis” to keep Bannon out of jail pending sentencing. the appeal after the court’s ruling. panel of the court of appeals.
Bannon was convicted of failing to comply with a Jan. 6 subpoena from the House of Representatives committee
Bannon has lost an appeal to overturn his sentence of four months in prison 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 White House picnic in Congress, called Bannon’s sentence “torture”
Bannon is the second close Trump adviser sentenced to prison for defying a congressional subpoena by the committee investigating Jan. 6
Trump ally Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz responded by calling Bannon’s prison sentence “torture.”
“Steve Bannon sought judicial review of the unlawful demands of a runaway congressional committee, the likes of which none have ever existed. It was literally a matter of first impression. And they send him to prison – not just to torture him, but to torture us. He didn’t even get a real trial. His defense was gutted by a judge who hates him,” wrote Gaetz, who attended the bipartisan congressional picnic with President Biden this week.
Bannon remains a prominent voice among Trump advisers and maintains his reach within the conservative movement through his daily War Room Pandemic podcast.