Trump ally Steve Bannon sentenced to 4 months in prison in contempt of Congress case
Written by B87FM on October 21, 2022
WASHINGTON – Former Trump White Home strategist Steve Bannon was sentenced to 4 months in jail Friday, three months after his conviction on contempt of Congress charges for defying a subpoena from the special House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol assault.
U.S. District Decide Carl Nichols granted a protection request that the flamboyant adviser to former President Donald Trump be allowed to stay free pending enchantment.
The Justice Division had sought a six month prison term for Bannon and really useful that he pay a most advantageous of $200,000 for “his sustained, bad-faith.”
“From the second that the Defendant, Stephen Ok. Bannon, accepted service of a subpoena from the Home Choose Committee to Examine the January sixth Assault on the US Capitol … he has pursued a bad-faith technique of defiance and contempt,” prosecutors asserted in courtroom paperwork prematurely of Friday’s sentencing listening to.
Bannon, who was additionally ordered to pay a $6,500 price, left the courthouse after the ruling, however not earlier than criticizing the Justice Division to a crowd of reporters.
“The American individuals are weighing and measuring what went on with the Justice Division,” Bannon stated earlier than referring to the upcoming midterm elections. “They may vote on Nov. 8.”
Extra:Trump ally Steve Bannon found guilty of contempt for defying Jan. 6 committee subpoena
The Home committee sought paperwork and testimony from the previous Trump adviser, however Bannon “flouted the Committee’s authority and ignored the subpoena’s calls for,” prosecutors stated.
“All through the pendency of this case, the Defendant has exploited his notoriety – by courthouse press conferences and his Warfare Room podcast – to show to the general public the supply of his bad-faith refusal to adjust to the Committee’s subpoena: a complete disregard for presidency processes and the legislation,” the federal government’s submitting acknowledged.
“By means of his public platforms, the Defendant has used hyperbolic and typically violent rhetoric to disparage the Committee’s investigation, personally assault the Committee’s members, and mock the prison justice system.”
Whereas Bannon initially refused to adjust to the panel’s summons, citing a declare of government privilege, prosecutors stated Monday that the Trump operative’s actions had been “aimed toward undermining the Committee’s efforts to research an historic assault on authorities.”
Extra:Steve Bannon heads to contempt trial for defying Jan. 6 committee. Here’s a breakdown of his case.
Bannon’s attorneys argued {that a} sentence of probation was extra acceptable.
“The authorized challenges superior by Mr. Bannon weren’t meritless or frivolous and had been aimed toward defending his constitutional rights,” lawyer Evan Corcoran argued in courtroom paperwork. “For these causes, the truth that Mr. Bannon selected to place the Authorities to its burden at trial shouldn’t preclude him from receiving a discount to his offense stage based mostly on acceptance of accountability.”
The sentencing listening to isn’t the one entrance of authorized bother going through Bannon.
Final month, he pleaded not responsible in New York to state prison expenses involving an alleged fundraising scheme.
Bannon and the “We Construct the Wall” nonprofit group are charged with two counts of cash laundering, plus felony counts of conspiracy and scheme to defraud. Bannon and the group additionally face a misdemeanor rely of conspiracy to defraud.
“There can’t be one algorithm for on a regular basis individuals and one other for the rich and highly effective – all of us should play by the identical guidelines and should obey the legislation,” New York Lawyer Common Letitia James stated in an announcement.
Extra:Trump adviser Steve Bannon pleads not guilty in N.Y. on charges related to border wall fund
The case is predicted to echo facets of a earlier federal prison case that accused Bannon and three co-defendants of conspiring to dupe donors who contributed greater than $25 million to construct a safety wall alongside the U.S.-Mexico border.
Within the federal case, Trump pardoned Bannon within the closing days of his White Home time period, ending that case in opposition to him.
Contributing: Kevin McCoy, Related Press
