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When he's done serving his four-month sentence for flouting congressional subpoenas, the former top Trump adviser faces a federal trial over the We Build the Wall scam.
Steve Bannon, a onetime senior adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump who was convicted of defying congressional subpoenas related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, must report to prison Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his 11th-hour bid to avert his four-month sentence.
In a single-sentence order with no public dissents, the Supreme Court stated that Bannon's "application for release pending appeal presented to the chief justice and by him referred to the court is denied."
In July 2022, a federal jury found Bannon guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. That October, he was sentenced to four months in prison and fined $6,500. Bannon has remained free pending appeals and has benefited from a pause imposed by Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee.
David Schoen, an attorney for Bannon, told The Washington Post on Friday: "I fully believe the conviction will be reversed and it is a shame to see it mishandled like this. He never should be going to jail for even a day."
However, Bannon not only faces four months behind bars for flouting Congress, another federal trial awaits him over his alleged conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering in connection with the
We Build the Wall fundraising scam.
"No one is above the law: not the rich, not the powerful, and not Steve Bannon," said one congressman.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's ex-chief strategist Steve Bannon on Thursday was ordered to report to federal prison by July 1 as he continues to challenge his conviction for defying a subpoena from the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
A federal jury found Bannon guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress in July 2022 and that October he was sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay a $6,500 fine. However, he has remained free during the appeals process, thanks to a pause imposed by Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by Trump.
Nichols has now lifted that stay, after a three-member panel from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. upheld the conviction last month. The judge said that "I do not believe that the original basis for my stay of Mr. Bannon's sentence exists anymore."
At the courthouse in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, "Bannon was flanked by his lawyers David Schoen—who once represented Trump in his impeachment proceedings after January 6—and Evan Corcoran, who is a key witness in the criminal case against Trump in Florida, where Trump is accused of hoarding classified documents after he left the White House," according to Politico.
Glenn Kirschner, an NBC News legal analyst, called Nichols' decision to lift the stay "welcome accountability."
Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said that "in America, no one is above the law: not the rich, not the powerful, and not Steve Bannon."
Bannon is expected to continue appealing his conviction to the full bench of the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a right-wing supermajority that includes three justices appointed by Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
If he heads to prison next month, Bannon will become the second top Trump ally behind bars. In March, Peter Navarro, who advised the ex-president on trade, reported to a federal prison in Florida after also being convicted of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the panel that probed the insurrection.
A New York jury last month found Trump guilty of 34 felony charges that stem from falsifying business records related to hush money payments to cover up sex scandals during the 2016 election. The GOP presidential candidate also faces three more cases—two related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss and one regarding his handling of classified materials.
"May this represent the beginning of real accountability for the orchestrators, the organizers, the funders, and the inciters of the attack on our democracy," said one legal analyst.
Peter Navarro could soon become the first former aide of ex-President Donald Trump to serve time behind bars related to GOP attempts to reverse the 2020 election results, according to a Sunday court filing by the American economist's legal team.
Navarro, who advised the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential candidate on trade, has been ordered to report to a low-security federal prison in Florida on March 19, his legal team told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The filing comes after U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, last month denied Navarro's request to remain free while appealing his September conviction. A jury found the 74-year-old guilty of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Mehta in January sentenced Navarro to four months in prison and a $9,500 fine. At the time, the judge contested his claims that the prosecution was politically motivated, saying: "You are not a victim. You are not the object of a political prosecution."
Referencing Navarro's term for his scheme to overturn Trump's 2020 loss, NBC News and MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner said Monday: "Look who's getting Green Bay-swept into prison. May this represent the beginning of real accountability for the orchestrators, the organizers, the funders, and the inciters of the attack on our democracy."
Navarro's conviction and sentencing came after Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, was convicted in July 2022 and sentenced to four months in prison for ignoring a subpoena from the panel. Bannon remains free during the appeals process.
Politico noted Monday that "Navarro is also fighting a civil lawsuit brought by the Justice Department demanding he return hundreds of records the government claims he improperly declined to deliver to the National Archives after leaving office. Some of those records pertain to the 2020 election."
Trump faces four ongoing criminal cases—including two related to his 2020 election interference efforts. However, it is not clear whether either will go to trial before the November election, in which he is expected to face Democratic President Joe Biden.