A federal judge has mandated [1] that Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to President Trump, must begin serving a four-month prison sentence by July 1. Bannon’s imprisonment results from his refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena investigating the January 6th Capitol events.
The directive from Judge Carl Nichols follows the rejection of Bannon’s appeal to overturn his conviction. This decision ensures Bannon, a pivotal conservative media figure and Trump associate, will be incarcerated during a crucial period in the 2024 presidential campaign between Trump and President Joe Biden. Matt Gaetz quickly took to X to post in support of Bannon:
It is with great sadness and anger that we observe the death of the judicial system in America.
Steve Bannon sought judicial review of the illegal demands of a runaway congressional committee, unlike any ever comprised. It was literally a matter of first impression.
And… https://t.co/BL80aQvlTR [2]
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) June 6, 2024 [3]
In 2022, Bannon was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress for his failure to provide documents and testify before the House committee investigating the January 6 incident. He joins Peter Navarro, another former Trump official, who is also serving a prison term for defying the same committee.
Bannon had avoided serving his sentence during the appeals process, but prosecutors sought to enforce the prison term after a federal appeals court upheld his conviction. His attorneys argued that he should remain free while appealing to the full D.C. Circuit court or the U.S. Supreme Court, citing that Bannon acted on his lawyer’s advice that he was not obliged to comply with the subpoena.
Although Bannon was not part of the White House staff at the time, he was involved with a group of Trump advisers attempting to disrupt the certification of Biden’s 2020 election win. The congressional panel suggested that Bannon had prior knowledge of the events planned for January 6, when Trump supporters breached the Capitol to halt the certification process.
Bannon responds:
BANNON: All of this is about one thing—shutting down the MAGA movement, grassroots conservatives and Pres Trump. Not only are we winning, we are going to prevail. There’s not a prison or jail built that can shut me up. pic.twitter.com/rjTvjHlrzW [4]
— Grace Chong 🇺🇸 (@gc22gc) June 6, 2024 [5]