The federal appeals court upheld the criminal conviction of Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 House select committee. Bannon was initially sentenced to four months in jail by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols but was allowed to appeal the decision. The court rejected Bannon's argument of immunity and executive privilege, affirming the conviction and possibly sending Bannon to prison; he can still appeal to the full appeals court or the Supreme Court.
Steve Bannon's Conviction Upheld by Appeals Court for Defying Jan. 6 Probe
Steve Bannon's criminal conviction for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 House select committee was upheld by a federal appeals court on Friday. The decision may potentially lead to Bannon, a prominent figure in the conservative populist strategy and ex-adviser to Donald Trump, serving time in federal prison. Bannon was initially sentenced to a four-month jail term in 2022 by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, but the sentence was postponed pending an appeal.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, consisting of a three-judge panel, dismissed Bannon's argument, stating that he did not have any legal basis for his outright refusal to appear before the Jan. 6 committee. The panel, consisting of appointees from Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden, reaffirmed the conviction in a 20-page opinion. It was clear from Bannon's case that there were no grounds for deviating from the established precedent.
Should Bannon wish to challenge this decision, he could appeal to the full 11-member bench of the appeals court or take his case to the Supreme Court. Bannon's attorney has not yet commented on the court's decision.
The court ruling follows a similar decision in which former Trump White House aide Peter Navarro's bid to delay his own four-month sentence for defying the Jan. 6 committee was rejected by federal courts. Navarro is currently serving his sentence in Miami.
Both Bannon and Navarro had collaborated on a strategy known as the "Green Bay Sweep." The strategy aimed to delay the electoral process by inciting objections from Congress members to the votes from states where Biden emerged victorious in 2020. This delay was intended to create an opportunity for pro-Trump electors to be appointed by GOP state legislatures.
Both Bannon and Navarro declined the Jan. 6 committee's request to appear for depositions or supply documents. While both claimed immunity and executive privilege in their defenses, their assertions were dismissed by judges referencing legal precedents that prohibit the intentional defiance of a congressional subpoena.
