WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court panel on Thursday rejected the long-standing proposal Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon is trying to stay out of jail as he fights his conviction for ignoring a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol.
Bannon must report to prison by July 1 to begin his four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated to the court 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 ruled. conviction upheld.
Bannon’s lawyers have asked the appeals court to release him while he continues to challenge 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 warrant a departure from the general rule” that defendants begin serving their sentences after a conviction.
Judges Cornelia Pillard, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, and Bradley Garcia, a nominee of President Joe Biden, voted to send Bannon to prison. Judge Justin Walker, who was nominated by Trump, disagreed, writing that he should serve no time before the Supreme Court decides whether to hear his case.
Bannon is expected to ask the Supreme Court to avert his prison sentence. His attorneys did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.
He was convicted nearly two years ago on two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for testimony before the Jan. 6 House Committee and the other for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement in the efforts by Trump, a Republican. to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Bannon’s attorney at trial argued that the former Trump adviser did not ignore the subpoena but was still in good faith negotiations with the congressional committee when he was charged. The defense has said Bannon relied on the advice of his attorney, who believed Bannon could not testify or produce documents because Trump had invoked executive privilege.
Lawyers for Bannon say the case raises serious legal questions that will likely have to be resolved by the Supreme Court, but that he will have already served his prison sentence by the time the case comes up.
In court filings, Bannon’s lawyers also argued there is a “strong public interest” in freeing him ahead of the 2024 election because Bannon is a top adviser to Trump’s campaign.
Bannon’s lawyers said that by jailing him now, the Justice Department is “creating the appearance that the government is trying to prevent Mr. Bannon from fully cooperating with the campaign and speaking out on important issues, as well as ensuring that the government demands its pound. of meat before the possible end of the Biden administration.”
Prosecutors said in court filings that Bannon’s “role in political discourse” is irrelevant.
“Bannon also cannot reconcile his claim for special treatment with the fundamental principle of equal justice under the law,” prosecutors wrote. “A balanced application of the bail statute requires Bannon’s continued detention.”
A second Trump aide, trade adviser Peter Navarro, is already serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress. Navarro also has said he could not work with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. However, the judge banned him from using this argument during the trial, because he felt that he had not shown that Trump had actually relied on it.
The House Committee’s Jan. 6 final report alleged that Trump was criminally involved in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful outcome of the 2020 election and failed to act to convince his supporters from attacking the Capitol, concluding an extraordinary 18-month investigation. in the former president and the violent insurrection.
