WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, must report to prison by July 1 to begin serving his four-month sentence after serving a subpoena from the House committee investigating the prison has braved. the US Capitol insurrectionA federal judge ruled this on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington last month granted the Justice Department’s request to allow Bannon to begin his prison sentence, following a federal appeals court ruling. maintained his contempt for the congressional conviction.
Bannon is expected to request a stay of the judge’s order, which could delay the date of his surrender.
“I have great lawyers, and if we have to, we will go all the way to the Supreme Court,” he told reporters outside the courthouse. Bannon called the case politically motivated and said: “This is about closing the case. the MAGA movement.”
“There is no prison built or built that will ever silence me,” Bannon said.
Bannon was convicted nearly two years ago of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to take a stand for testimony before the House committee on January 6 and the other for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement in Trump’s efforts to cover his loss in the to overturn the 2020 presidential election for Democrat Joe Biden.
Nichols, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, a Republican, had initially allowed him to remain free while he fought his conviction because the judge found the case raised substantial legal questions. But at a hearing in Washington federal court, Nichols said the calculation changed after the appeals court panel said all of Bannon’s challenges were without merit.
“I don’t believe the original basis for my stay still exists,” Nichols said.
Bannon can appeal his conviction to the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prosecutor John Crabb told the judge it was “highly unlikely” Bannon would succeed in having his conviction overturned.
Bannon’s attorney at trial argued that the former adviser did not ignore the subpoena but was still in good faith negotiations with the congressional committee when he was charged.
The defense has said Bannon acted on the advice of his attorney at the time, who told him the subpoena was invalid because the committee would not allow a Trump lawyer into the room and that Bannon could not control what documents or testimony he could obtain. because Trump has asserted executive privilege.
Defense attorney David Schoen told the judge it would be unfair to send Bannon to prison now because he would serve his entire prison sentence before exhausting his appeal options. Schoen said the case raises “serious constitutional issues” that should be examined by the Supreme Court.
“In this country we don’t send anyone to jail if they think they did something that was within the law,” he told reporters.
A second Trump assistant, trade advisor Peter Navarro, was also convicted of contempt of Congress. He was sent to prison in March to begin serving his four-month sentence.
Navarro had also insisted that he could not cooperate the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. But courts have rejected that argument, finding that Navarro could not prove that Trump actually invoked it.
The House Committee’s Jan. 6 final report alleged that Trump was criminally involved in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful outcome of the 2020 election and failed to take action to to stop the elections. his followers of attacking the Capitol, concluding an extraordinary 18-month investigation into the former president and the violent uprising.
Bannon also faces criminal charges in New York state court he deceived donors who gave money to build a wall along the US southern 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.