Trump ally Steve Bannon to report to federal prison to serve four-month sentence
WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a staunch Trump ally, is due to report to a federal prison in Connecticut on Monday to begin serving a four-month sentence for contempt of court for ignoring a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the Attack on the US Capitol.
A judge had granted Bannon nearly two years of freedom while he appealed, but ordered him to report to prison Monday after an appeals court panel ruled. maintained his contempt for Congress’s convictions.
The The Supreme Court rejected his final request to have his sentence stayed.
A jury found Bannon guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a Jan. 6 House committee testimony and a second for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement in Republican ex-president Joe Biden’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrats.
Defense attorneys have argued that the case raises issues that should be examined by the Supreme Court, including Bannon’s previous attorney’s belief that the subpoena was invalid because former President Donald Trump had asserted executive privilege. However, prosecutors say Bannon had left the White House years earlier and that Trump never invoked executive privilege before the committee.
Bannon’s appeal will stand, and Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have expressed support for the move to argue that the Jan. 6 committee was improperly constituted. In doing so, they are actually trying to label the subpoena that Bannon received as unlawful.
Another Trump advisor, trade adviser 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 request for a deferred sentence.
Bannon also faces criminal charges in New York state court for being 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.