Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon must report to prison on July 1st. Judge says

Steve Bannon is seen appearing in the courtroom at the courthouse in New York, Jan. 12 2023. Bannon declares he will fight the decision of a judge that he has to report in prison by July 1 to complete his four-month prison sentence for defying a summons from the House committee that looked into the U.S. Capitol insurrection. Steven Hirsch/Pool New York Post via AP hide caption

By The AAP 07/06/2024

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Steven Hirsch/Pool New York Post via AP

WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, a longtime friend with former President Donald Trump, must report to jail by July 1st to serve his four-month prison sentence for ignoring an order from a House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection, the federal judge decided on Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington approved the request of Justice Department to let Bannon start his prison sentence following a federal appeals court panel in the last month affirmed the infraction of Congress conviction.

Bannon will likely to pursue an extension of the judge’s ruling which could put off the date of his surrender.

“I’ve got great lawyers, and we’re going to go all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to,” Bannon said to reporters in front of the courthouse. He also said: “There’s not a prison built or jail built that will ever shut me up.”

In a post on social media Wednesday, Trump accused prosecutors of being “desperate” to jail Bannon. Trump reiterated his assertion that Republicans are under attack by a politically-motivated justice system — a stance that has gotten more fervent following the presumed Republican presidential candidate’s conviction this week of 34 counts of felony during the New York hush money trial.

Nichols Judge Nichols, who directed Bannon to be sent in prison was named as a judge by Trump in the year 2018.

Bannon was convicted almost two years back of two counts of contempt for Congress one of which was in which he refused to take deposition before his Jan. 6. House Committee and the other for refusing to release documents pertaining to his participation in efforts by President Trump to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election by Democrat Joe Biden.

Nichols initially allowed Bannon to remain in his home while Bannon fought his conviction as the judge was of the opinion that the case raised serious legal issues. However, during a hearing at the federal court in Washington, Nichols stated that the decision-making process changed when that appeals court’s panel decided that all Bannon’s arguments lack merit.

“I do not believe the original basis for my stay exists any longer,” Nichols stated.

Bannon may appeal his conviction to the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. The prosecutor John Crabb told the judge that it that it was “very unlikely” Bannon would be able to get his conviction dismissed.

The lawyer for Bannon at trial claimed that his former advisor didn’t disobey the subpoena and was engaged in honest discussions with the committee when he was convicted.

The defense claims Bannon was following counsel from his lawyer when he was in court, and who informed Bannon that the subpoena was ineffective because the committee could not permit the presence of a Trump lawyer to be present and Bannon was unable to determine which documents or evidence he was able to give due to the fact that Trump has claimed executive privilege.

Lawyer for the defense David Schoen told the judge that it was unfair to sentence Bannon to prison right now since the defendant would be serving his full sentence before exhausting his appeals. Schoen said that the case is a case that raises “serious constitutional issues” that require a thorough examination before the Supreme Court.

“In this country, we don’t send anyone to prison if they believe that they were doing something that complied with the law,” the president said to reporters.

Another Trump adviser, trade adviser Peter Navarro, was also found guilty of in contempt to Congress. He was sent to jail during March, to finish a four-month prison sentence.

Navarro also claimed that he was unable to join the committee since Trump claimed executive privilege. But the courts have rejected the argument, finding that Navarro was unable to demonstrate that Trump was actually citing executive privilege.

The House Jan. 6 committee’s report concluded that Trump was a criminal in his “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. He also did nothing to prevent his supporters from destroying the Capitol in the midst of an extraordinary 18-month probe into the former president’s conduct and the violent revolt.

Bannon faces charges of criminality as well in New York state court alleging fraud against donors who contributed money for the construction of walls across the U.S. south-west border. Bannon has admitted he is not guilty of conspiracy, money laundering fraud, and other charges. He has also announced the trial has been delayed until at the very least the end of September.