Nearly two years after Steve Bannon was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress, the right-wing operative/podcaster hoped an appeals court would undo what a jury had already done. When that attempt failed, Bannon was faced with the real possibility of incarceration.
That now seems more and more inevitable. NBC News reported:
For those who may need a refresher on how we got to this point, the one thing everyone involved in the process can agree on is that Bannon has key insights regarding the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was in contact with Trump in the lead-up to the insurrectionist riot, and reportedly told the outgoing president:[I]It is time to kill the Biden presidency in the cradle.”
The day before the attack, Bannon seemed to know quite a bit about what was likely to happen, telling his podcast listeners, “All hell will break loose tomorrow.” Just understand this: all hell will break loose tomorrow…. [A]All I can say is: brace yourself. You made this happen, and tomorrow is game day.”
With this in mind, it hardly came as a surprise that the bipartisan House committee investigating the attack issued subpoenas in September 2021, seeking information from key Trump insiders — and Bannon was at the top of the list.
When he refused to comply in any way, the House of Representatives passed a resolution finding the Republican Party in contempt of Congress. As part of the same process, the Democratic-led chamber referred the case to the Justice Department for possible criminal charges. In November 2021, Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury, charged with one count of contempt and another for his refusal to produce documents despite a congressional subpoena.
The criminal trial did not go particularly well for the defendant: Bannon’s defense team called no witnesses and the defendant never took a stand. The jury deliberated only about three hours before finding him guilty.
A few months later, Judge Carl J. Nichols, also appointed by Trump, sentenced Bannon to four months in prison, although the lawyer said he could remain free while the appeals process continued.
As my MSNBC colleague Clarissa-Jan Lim explained in May, when a federal appeals court upheld Bannon’s conviction, he had little choice.
Federal prosecutors told Nichols there was “no legal basis” for the continued stay. The lawyer agreed and ordered Bannon to report to prison next month.
The podcast host and his counsel will almost certainly continue to appeal, although it seems increasingly inevitable that Bannon will soon end up behind bars.
Complicating matters further, Bannon will also go on trial in New York City in September on charges related to his role in the ‘We Build the Wall’ operation. In that case, he is accused of defrauding donors. (Coincidentally, Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over Donald Trump’s hush money trial, is also overseeing Bannon’s other case.)
Bannon also faced federal criminal charges four years ago, though he was pardoned by Trump on the last day of his term.
Another presidential pardon this year seems extremely unlikely.
This message updates our related previous reporting.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
