Trump’s ex-adviser Bannon sentenced for contempt of Congress
Steve Bannon, a one-time adviser to former U.S President Donald Trump, has been sentenced to four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with lawmakers investigating last year’s U.S. Capitol attack.
Bannon was found guilty in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to provide documents or testimony to the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.
Prosecutors had sought a six-month sentence, while Bannon’s attorneys had asked for probation.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also ordered Bannon, a key adviser to the Republican Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, to pay a fine of $6,500.
The judge allowed Bannon to defer serving his sentence while he appeals his conviction.
Prosecutor J.P. Cooney said at Friday’s hearing that Bannon chose to “thumb his nose at Congress.” He “is not above the law, and that’s what makes this case important,” Cooney said.
Bannon, 68, served as Trump’s chief White House strategist in 2017 before a falling out between them that was later patched up.
Also Read: Steve Bannon to Face Indictment in New York
“Today was my judgment day by the judge,” Bannon told reporters. “But…on November 8, they are going to have a judgment on the illegitimate Biden regime, and quite frankly, (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and the entire committee.”
Bannon has two weeks to file his appeal, which his lawyers said they intend to do. If he fails to file it on time, he is required to turn himself in by November 15.
During Friday’s hearing, Bannon’s attorney David Schoen said Bannon relied on the advice of his lawyers not to comply with a congressional subpoena after Trump invoked executive privilege, a legal doctrine that shields some White House communications from disclosure.
“A more egregious contempt of Congress would have been to say ‘Screw you Congress, take your subpoena and shove it!'” Schoen said.
Nichols, in rendering his decision, said he agreed that Bannon should get some credit for relying on legal advice, even if it was “misguided.”
At the same time, Nichols said that Bannon “had not produced a single document” or any testimony to Congress.
“The January 6 Committee has every reason to investigate what happened that day,” Nichols said, adding that “flaunting congressional subpoenas betrays a lack of respect” for Congress.
Zainab Sa’id
