Steve Bannon: appeals court upholds conviction for contempt of Congress for defying January 6 subpoena

CNN
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A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the contempt of Congress conviction of Steve Bannon, the former adviser to former President Donald Trump, who was convicted after failing to comply with a committee subpoena of the House on January 6.

Bannon’s conviction – and now the D.C. Circuit’s affirmation of that conviction – strengthens Congress’ influence in its efforts to gain cooperation in its investigations.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in D.C. unanimously rejected several challenges Bannon made in the case, including his assertion that the trial court excluded evidence he should have been allowed to present to the jury for his defense.

Bannon was sentenced to four months in federal prison and that sentence was also upheld Friday by the appeals court. The ruling could clear the way for Bannon to eventually report to prison, although the timing is unclear.

The judge who presided over Bannon’s trial previously agreed to let him suspend his sentence while his appeal was heard. In its ruling Friday, the three-judge appeals panel gave Bannon time to appeal his decision to the full appeals court in Washington before formally notifying the trial judge that the conviction was confirmed.

Bannon could also go directly to the Supreme Court for further appeal, which could further delay the time he has to begin serving his prison sentence.

Bannon’s lawyers did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

In the new D.C. Circuit ruling, Judge Bradley Garcia, appointed by President Joe Biden, upheld the trial judge’s exclusion of a defense based on counsel’s advice because Bannon had asserted that He had dismissed the subpoena because of alleged executive privilege concerns expressed to him. by his lawyer.

“This specific defense of ‘advice of counsel’ is no defense at all,” Garcia wrote, noting that the contempt statute only required proof that Bannon “deliberately and intentionally” failed to respond to the assignment.

Her opinion was joined by Judge Cornelia Pillard, appointed by former President Barack Obama, and Judge Justin Walker, appointed by Trump.

The appeals court noted that “the communications from former President Trump’s attorney” that Bannon attempted to rely on to defend his conduct did not purport to “authorize Bannon’s refusal to produce documents or appear for his testimony.

The D.C. Circuit also rejected Bannon’s argument that the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 insurrection was not improperly formed.

“These objections suffer from a common defect,” the justices wrote. “Bannon did not raise them before the select committee and therefore lost them.”

Bannon is one of two former members of Trump’s inner circle who were prosecuted for failing to participate in the Jan. 6 House investigation. The second, Peter Navarro, a former Trump White House aide, is currently serving a four-month prison sentence for his 2023 conviction.

When the now-defunct House panel sought documents and testimony from Bannon in 2021, it pointed to alleged communications between Bannon and Trump in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, as well than the comments made by Bannon on his podcast the day before. riot that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow”.

Bannon served for a time in the Trump White House, but by the time of Trump’s crusade to overturn his 2020 election defeat, Bannon had long left the federal government.

This story has been updated with additional details and background information.