Supreme Court rejects Trump ally Steve Bannon’s bid to delay prison sentence
WASHINGTON — The High Council on Friday rejected a request to delay the prison sentence of Steve Bannon, a close Trump ally. Bannon is appealing his conviction for ignoring a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Bannon filed an emergency appeal after a judge ordered him to report to prison on July 1 for a four-month sentence after ignoring a subpoena from the House of Representatives’ investigative committee. the attack of January 6, 2021The court previously rejected a similar request from another Trump adviser.
The request was originally addressed to Chief Justice John Roberts, who oversees such requests from Washington, but he referred it to the full court.
The court dismissed it without explanation, as is customary. There were no notable dissents.
Defense attorneys have argued that the case raises issues that should be examined by the Supreme Court, including the belief by Bannon’s previous attorney that the subpoena was invalid because former President Donald Trump had invoked executive privilege. Prosecutors, however, say Bannon had left the White House years earlier and that Trump never invoked executive privilege before the committee.
A jury Bannon Found Guilty nearly two years ago on two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to testify before the House committee on Jan. 6 and the second for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement in the Republican ex president to reverse his 2020 election defeat against Democrat Joe Biden.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols allowed Bannon to remain free while he appealed, but recently ordered him to report to jail after an appeals court panel maintained his contempt for Congress’s convictionsThe panel later rejected Bannon’s bid to avoid reporting to prison.
Bannon is expected to appeal his conviction to the full appeals court, and Republican House leaders have voiced their support for their intervention by arguing that the January 6 commission was improperly established, effectively seeking to have the subpoena Bannon received deemed illegal.
Another Trump advisor, trade advisor Peter Navarro, has also been convicted of contempt of Congress. He reported to prison in March to begin serving his four-month sentence after the Supreme Court rejected his bid to delay the sentence.
Bannon also faces criminal charges in New York State court as he is accused deceived donors who gave money to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges, and that trial has been postponed until at least the end of September.
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Associated Press editor Farnoush Amiri contributed to this story.
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