WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Steve Bannon, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, was sentenced by a judge on Friday to four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with lawmakers investigating the bombing of the United States Capitol last year.
Bannon was found guilty in July of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to provide documents or testimony to a House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Prosecutors had asked for a six-month sentence, while Bannon’s lawyers had asked for parole.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also ordered Bannon, a key adviser to Republican Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, to pay a $6,500 fine. The judge allowed Bannon to defer serving his sentence while he appealed his conviction.
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Prosecutor JP Cooney told Friday’s hearing that Bannon chose to “thumb his nose at Congress.” “He’s not above the law, and that’s what makes this case important,” Cooney said.
Bannon, 68, served as Trump’s chief strategist in the White House in 2017 before a falling out between them that was later patched up.
Brannon helped articulate the right-wing “America First” populism and strong opposition to immigration that helped define Trump’s presidency. Bannon has played a pivotal role in right-wing media and has promoted right-wing causes and candidates in the United States and abroad.
A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and attacked police with batons, hammers, flagpoles, Taser devices, chemical irritants, metal pipes, rocks, metal railings and other weapons in a failed effort to block the congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Bannon declined to address the judge before the sentencing Friday.
Outside court, he delivered fiery remarks as protesters at times tried to drown out his voice with chants of “Traitor!”
“Today was the day of my trial by the judge,” Bannon told reporters. But … on Nov. 8, they’re going to have a trial on the illegitimate Biden regime and, frankly, (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and the whole committee.”
Bannon has two weeks to file his appeal, which his lawyers said they intend to do. If you do not present it in time, it must be delivered before November 15.
Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist under former President Donald Trump, arrives in U.S. District Court for his sentencing day on contempt of Congress charges after refusing a January 6 committee subpoena , in Washington, US, on October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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According to the Jan. 6 committee, Bannon spoke with Trump at least twice the day before the attack, attended a planning meeting at a Washington hotel and told his right-wing podcast that “all hell it will be released tomorrow.”
At his trial, prosecutors called only two witnesses while Bannon’s defense team called none. Bannon chose not to testify. Bannon’s lawyers have said they will appeal his conviction.
Bannon’s defense was limited by Nichols rulings barring him from asserting that he was relying on claims of executive privilege and arguing that he was relying on the advice of his attorney.
Committee leaders have called Bannon’s conviction a victory for the rule of law. Bannon had tried to portray the criminal charges as politically motivated, lashing out at Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, saying, “They got the wrong guy at the right time.”
The Democratic-led committee has called for testimony from dozens of people in Trump’s orbit. In addition to Bannon, prosecutors have charged former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro with contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the same committee, with a Nov. 17 trial date set. Navarro has declared himself innocent.
During Friday’s hearing, Bannon’s lawyer, David Schoen, said Bannon was relying on his lawyers’ advice not to comply with a congressional subpoena after Trump invoked executive privilege, a legal doctrine which protects some White House communications from disclosure.
“A more blatant disregard for Congress would have been to say, ‘Screw you, Congress, take the subpoena and push it,'” Schoen said.
Nichols, in making his decision, said he agreed Bannon should get some credit for relying on legal advice, even if it was “wrong.”
At the same time, Nichols said Bannon “had not produced a single document” or any testimony to Congress.
“The January 6th Committee has every reason to investigate what happened that day,” Nichols said, adding that “flaunting the subpoenas in Congress betrays a lack of respect” for Congress.
Friday’s ruling does not end Bannon’s legal troubles. In September, he was indicted in New York state on money laundering and conspiracy charges, with prosecutors accusing him of defrauding donors of giving money to help build Trump’s promised wall along the border between the US and Mexico
Bannon, who has pleaded not guilty, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of those charges.
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Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell
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