Bannon, Trump ally, to report to prison for contempt of Congress

Published on: 01/07/2024 – 08:50Amended: 01/07/2024 – 08:54

2 minutes

Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally, is due to report to a federal prison in Connecticut on Monday to serve a four-month sentence for contempt of court for defying a subpoena as part of the congressional investigation into the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A judge had allowed Bannon to remain free for nearly two years while he appealed, but ordered him to report to prison on Monday after an appeals court panel upheld his contempt of Congress convictions.

The Supreme Court rejected his last-minute appeal to delay his conviction.

A jury found Bannon guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a House committee deposition on Jan. 6 and a second for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement in the Republican former president's effort to overthrow his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

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Defense attorneys argued the case raised questions that should be considered by the Supreme Court, including the belief by Bannon's former lawyer that the subpoena was invalid because former President Donald Trump had asserts executive privilege. Prosecutors say, however, that Bannon had left the White House years before and that Trump never invoked executive privilege before the committee.

Bannon's appeal will continue to play out, and House Republican leaders have lent their support to intervene to argue that the January 6 committee was improperly created, trying to cast the subpoena Bannon received as illegitimate.

Another Trump aide, trade adviser Peter Navarro, was also found in contempt of Congress. He reported to prison in March to serve his four-month sentence after the Supreme Court denied his request for a postponement.

Bannon also faces criminal charges in a New York state court alleging he defrauded donors who gave money to build a wall along the U.S.-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.

(AP)