Appeals court upholds Steve Bannon’s conviction for contempt of Congress

WASHINGTON — A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has upheld Steve Bannon’s conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress.

Bannon was convicted after a trial in 2022 and sentenced to four months in prison. The trial judge, however, suspended Bannon’s sentence, allowing him to remain free pending his appeal.

Bannon still has the option of asking the full D.C. Circuit judges to hear his case, or he can request a review by the Supreme Court.

An order issued by the D.C. Circuit says the judges’ mandate won’t officially take effect until seven days after further appeal attempts are resolved. This means that it is unlikely that Bannon will have to report to prison immediately.

In a statement released Friday evening, Bannon’s attorney said he would ask the full Washington Circuit to hear his case.

“Mr. Bannon will now seek relief before the Full Court of Appeals,” David I. Schoen said. “This is the next step.”

“There are many fundamental constitutional questions at stake in this case,” Schoen also said. “Today’s decision is legally wrong and reflects a very dangerous view of the threshold for criminal responsibility for any defendant in our country and of future political abuses of the Congressional hearing process.”

Bannon, who was an aide to former President Donald Trump, was convicted in July 2022 when a jury found him guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena for documents and testimony issued by the House select committee that investigated the matter. January 6, 2021, insurrection.

Arguing before the appeals court last fall in an effort to overturn the four-month prison sentence, Bannon’s lawyer claimed his client could not comply with those subpoenas because Trump had invoked executive privilege. In addition to the prison sentence, Bannon was fined $6,500.