A federal court of appeals upheld Steve Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction after he appealed the charge.
Bannon, an ex-adviser to Donald Trump, is now closer to facing his four-month jail sentence after a three-judge panel with the Washington, DC Court of Appeals denied his appeal on Friday morning.
Bannon still has legal recourse, however. Bannon could appeal to the full panel of judges serving in the capital’s highest court. He could also petition the US Supreme Court to hear his appeal.
A Washington, DC jury convicted Bannon in July 2022 after he failed to comply with a Congressional subpoena related to the 6 January 2021 Capitol riots. In 2021, the investigating committee asked him to testify and produce documents related to the riots, but he refused to do so, according to the Washington, DC US Attorney’s office.
He was sentenced to four months in jail and handed a $6,500 fine three months later. His sentence was put on hold after his legal team appealed the conviction.
In their appeal, Bannon’s legal team argued the ex-Trump aide did not “willfully” reject the subpoena, claiming he was only following the advice of his lawyers by not responding, according to Friday’s ruling. The Court of Appeals rejected this argument.
“As both this court and the Supreme Court have repeatedly explained, a contrary rule would contravene the text of the contempt statute and hamstring Congress’s investigatory authority,” Judge Bradley Garcia wrote. “Because we have no basis to depart from that binding precedent, and because none of Bannon’s other challenges to his convictions have merit, we affirm.”
Peter Navarro, a fellow aide to Mr Trump, was also charged with contempt of Congress after failing to comply with a subpoena for the 6 January investigation. He was sentenced to four months in January and began his sentence in March after the Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal.
Bannon is also expected in court this September for a New York fraud trial. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused him of duping supporters who donated to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, arguing Bannon used the money for personal gain instead.
The former adviser to Mr Trump pled not guilty to state charges of money laundering, conspiracy, fraud. Judge Juan Merchan will preside over the case.
The trial was originally set for this month but pushed back because of Mr Trump’s hush money trial, which Judge Merchan is also presiding over.
The Independent has contacted Bannon’s attorney and the Washington, DC US Attorney’s office for comment.
