A federal judge has ruled that Steve Bannon, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, must report to prison by July 1 to serve a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington granted prosecutors' request to make Bannon begin serving his prison term following a federal appeals court upholding his contempt of Congress conviction.
Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the Jan. 6 House Committee's deposition and for failing to provide documents related to Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. His defense argued that the charges were politically motivated and that Bannon was engaged in negotiations with the committee at the time of his charges.
Despite the defense's claims, the court rejected Bannon's challenges, leading to the enforcement of his prison sentence. Bannon's attorney indicated plans to seek further review of the matter by higher courts, including the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
Another Trump aide, Peter Navarro, was also convicted of contempt of Congress and began serving his four-month sentence in March. Navarro had cited executive privilege as a reason for non-cooperation with the committee, but the courts dismissed this argument due to lack of evidence of Trump invoking executive privilege.
The House Jan. 6 committee's final report concluded that Trump was involved in a 'multi-part conspiracy' to overturn the 2020 election results and failed to prevent the Capitol attack by his supporters. The investigation spanned 18 months and delved into Trump's role in the violent insurrection.
