WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court panel on Thursday dismissed former Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon tries to stay out of prison while fighting his conviction for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the attack on the US Capitol.
Bannon is should report to prison by July 1 to begin serving his four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed to the position by Trump, earlier this month granted prosecutors’ request to send Bannon to prison after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld his conviction.
Bannon’s lawyers asked the appeals court to allow him to remain free while he continues to fight the conviction all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary. But in a 2-1 vote, the D.C. Circuit panel said Bannon’s case “does not justify a departure from the general rule” that defendants begin serving their sentences upon conviction.
Judges Cornelia Pillard, appointed by former President Barack Obama, and Bradley Garcia, appointed by President Joe Biden, voted in favor of sending Bannon to prison. Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, disagreed, writing that he should not have to serve time before the Supreme Court decides whether to take his case.
Bannon is expected to ask the Supreme Court to postpone his prison sentence. His lawyers did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.
He was sentenced almost two years ago of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to testify before the January 6 House Committee and the other for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement in efforts by Trump, a Republican, to overturn his election defeat 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Bannon’s trial lawyer argued that the former Trump adviser did not ignore the subpoena but was still engaged in good faith negotiations with the congressional committee when he was charged. The defense said Bannon relied on the advice of his lawyer, who believed Bannon could not testify or produce documents because Trump invoked executive privilege.
Bannon’s lawyers say the case raises serious legal questions that will likely need to be resolved by the Supreme Court, but he will have already served his prison sentence by the time the case gets there.
In court documents, Bannon’s lawyers also argued that there is a “strong public interest” in allowing him to remain free in the run-up to the 2024 election because Bannon is a top adviser to the Trump campaign.
Bannon’s lawyers said the Justice Department, by trying to arrest him now, is “giving the impression that the government is trying to stop Mr. Meat before the possible end of the Biden administration.”
Prosecutors said in court documents that Bannon’s “role in political discourse” is irrelevant.
“Bannon also fails to reconcile his request for special treatment with the fundamental principle of equal justice before the law,” prosecutors wrote. “Impartial application of the bail statute requires Bannon’s continued detention.”
A second Trump aide, trade consultant Pedro Navarro, is already serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress. Navarro also said he could not cooperate with the Committee because Trump invoked executive privilege. However, the judge prohibited him from making that argument at trial, concluding that he had not demonstrated that Trump had actually invoked it.
The House committee’s Jan. 6 final report stated that Trump was criminally involved in a “multifaceted conspiracy” to overturn the legal results of the 2020 election and failed to act to stop it. your supporters of attacking the Capitol, concluding an extraordinary 18-month investigation into the former president and the violent insurrection.
