Steve Bannon was given a short window of time on Thursday, July 1st, by a federal judge to surrender to prison. This will allow the former strategist of Donald Trump to seek intervention from a higher court.
After neglecting to submit records and evidence to the House Select Committee looking into the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress in 2022. He received a four-month prison sentence.
Carl Nichols, the federal judge overseeing the case, had first put the sentence on hold while Bannon challenged the conviction.
But after a DC Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously dismissed numerous of Bannon’s arguments to the case last month, prosecutors requested Nichols to promptly send Bannon to prison to start serving his sentence.
Nichols stated on Thursday that he didn’t think his justification for halting Bannon’s sentencing “exists any longer” in light of the appeals court decision.
The Trump-appointed judge stated that he concluded that he was able to release Bannon from prison while the case is still being appealed.
Potential high court intervention
Bannon promised to challenge his conviction for contempt of Congress “to the Supreme Court if we have to” shortly after the session ended.
Bannon further asserted, devoid of supporting documentation, that the Justice Department’s indictment of him was intended to “shut down the MAGA movement, shut down grassroots conservatives, and shut down President Trump.”
“There’s nothing that can shut me up and nothing that will shut me up. There’s not a prison built or a jail built that will ever shut me up,” he told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Washington.
“We’re going to win at the Supreme Court,” he added.
Second ex-Trump adviser punished over subpoena non-compliance
David Schoen, Bannon’s lawyer, contended during the hearing that his client ought to be spared from prison until the Supreme Court could examine the matter. Additionally, Schoen stated that he would make his motion by June 24 for the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to consider the matter in its entirety.
According to prosecutor John Crabb, Bannon did not meet the requirements set forth by law to avoid jail time while his appeal was pending. Crabb cited the unsuccessful attempt by Peter Navarro, another former Trump advisor, to halt his sentence after he refused to cooperate with a January 6 committee subpoena in the House. This attempt was denied by the DC Circuit and the Supreme Court.
According to Nichols, Navarro’s case involved distinct concerns, and the judge finally cited the fact that three justices of the appeals court “wholeheartedly” disagreed with the reasons Bannon was putting out in his case. Although no judge on the DC Circuit panel reviewed Bannon’s case, Nichols pointed out that any member may have expressed concerns in a concurrence or dissent about the important precedent Bannon is attempting to undermine.
Bannon has just under a month until the surrender date, during which time he may attempt to get an extension of his term by filing emergency motions with the appeals court and maybe the Supreme Court.
Schoen attempted once more, in a heated debate with the judge, to persuade Nichols to keep Bannon out of jail after he made his order known.
Due to his conviction in 2023, Navarro is presently serving a four-month prison sentence.
or a specific category with our 
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.