Supreme Court rejects Steve Bannon’s attempt to delay prison for contempt until January 6

The Supreme Court’s rejection was summed up in a single sentence: “The application for interim release presented to the Chief Justice and referred by him to the Court is rejected.” » The court did not state its reasons, but lower courts said Bannon did not raise substantial legal questions regarding his conviction on two counts of refusing to provide documents or testimony to a commission of the House of Representatives investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Bannon had asked the justices for an emergency stay on June 21, after his Washington-based trial judge and the justices who heard the appeal of his conviction rejected similar requests. Both courts said Bannon was unlikely to succeed in arguing that he relied on the advice of an attorney and did not “willfully” break the law by ignoring the subpoena. of Congress.

David I. Schoen, an attorney who represented Bannon throughout his trial and sentencing, said Friday: “I fully believe the conviction will be overturned and it’s unfortunate to see it mishandled in this way. He should never go to prison for a day.”

Bannon’s lawyers argued that as a “senior advisor to President Trump’s campaign,” he should have the “ability to participate in the campaign and comment on important policy issues” as the election approaches. of 2024.

Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar wrote that Bannon did not qualify for an “extraordinary” exception to the law, arguing before the Supreme Court: “He cannot provide the demanding evidence necessary to override the requirement.” normal by which a convicted accused must begin serving his sentence. »

The court rejected Bannon’s request, which had been rejected by Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro, 74, who is scheduled to serve a four-month prison sentence on July 17 after becoming the first person incarcerated for contempt in Congress since the Cold War. Navarro was convicted in September of the same charges as Bannon, after writing in his memoir that he and Bannon had a plan to prevent Joe Biden from taking office.

The two men argued that they could not testify before the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol because they were covered by executive privilege, the constitutional principle of separation of powers that protects the communications of the President of Congress’s top aides.

But the judges ruled that unlike two other top Trump aides whom the Justice Department declined to charge for failing to appear before the committee — former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and communications chief Dan Scavino — neither Bannon nor Navarro had received letters from a lawyer for the former president ordering them not to respond to the committee’s subpoenas, specifically citing privilege.

To the contrary, although Trump suggested before the trial that Bannon was covered by executive privilege, a Trump lawyer at the time told Bannon’s lawyers otherwise.

Trump’s White House lawyer wrote: “We do not believe there is…testimonial immunity for your client.”

Bannon has maintained a high political profile, advising Trump and others during the 2024 campaign and speaking on his “War Room” podcast. The former chief strategist for the 2016 Trump campaign served a year in the White House, and since the Capitol riots, he has helped guide the comeback of the Trump movement.

He faces other legal challenges. Last summer, a New York state judge ordered him to pay nearly $500,000 in legal fees to lawyers representing him in several cases, including a criminal case accusing him of defrauding donors contributing to a private effort to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump pardoned Bannon in connection with these allegations.