The Supreme Court has rejected Steve Bannon’s attempt to avoid prison time after he was convicted of contempt of Congress.
In a brief ruling Friday, the Supreme Court ordered the former adviser to Donald Trump, who has been challenging convictions stemming from his resistance to subpoenas surrounding the House of Representatives’ Jan. 6 riot investigation, to report to jail on Monday.
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“The application for bail pending the appeal filed before the Chief Justice and referred to the court by him is dismissed,” the order said.
In July 2022, Bannon was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress and later sentenced to four months in prison in October 2022.
Federal prosecutors say Bannon believed he was “above the law” when he refused to testify before a House committee on Jan. 6 and turned over documents related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. to undermine.
By ignoring the subpoenas, “Bannon chose to demonstrate his contempt for the authority of Congress and its procedures,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Rose Vaughn said in 2022.
Friday’s Supreme Court ruling is a response to Bannon’s request earlier this month to the country’s Supreme Court to urgently postpone his prison sentence.
Bannon has accused the convictions against him of being politically motivated, with his lawyer David Schoen saying the case raises “serious constitutional issues” that should be examined by the Supreme Court.
“Frankly, Mr. Bannon should not have to apologize. No American should have to apologize for the way Mr. Bannon handled this case,” Schoen added.
Lawyers for Trump’s close ally have also argued there is a “strong public interest” in keeping Bannon free ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
