Staff Reports
Federal prosecutors have urged the judge in Steve Bannon’s contempt case to enforce his four-month prison sentence without delay. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Bannon’s appeal, prompting prosecutors to request that Judge Carl Nichols end the postponement on him serving his prison sentence. Nichols had previously delayed Bannon’s jail term while he appealed the decision.
Bannon was subpoenaed by a congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress for his refusal to cooperate. The former Trump adviser argued that his lawyer had advised him not to comply with the subpoena. Despite this, the appeals court’s three-judge panel ruled that the information sought in the trial subpoenas was not relevant to the contempt offense.
This latest development marks the escalating legal battle between Bannon and the House of Representatives committee investigating the riot. After Bannon made comments on his podcast before the Capitol riot, the House launched an investigation into his role.
With the rejection of his appeal, it seems likely that Bannon will have to serve his prison sentence for his refusal to cooperate with the congressional probe into the Capitol riot.
