OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A federal judge has sentenced former White House adviser Steve Bannon to four months in jail for defying a subpoena from the House Democrat-led Jan. 6 Committee. The judge also ordered Bannon to pay a $6,500 fine.
“U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, said Bannon inappropriately defied the select committee on a matter of significant national interest, and even after roadblocks to his testimony had been removed. A jury had convicted Bannon in July on two charges of contempt of Congress — one for refusing to testify to the Jan. 6 select committee, another for refusing to provide relevant documents to the panel,” Politico reported.
“Nichols opted to allow Bannon to stay out of jail pending appeal, which could push the issue well into next year. The select committee subpoenaed Bannon in September 2021 as it sought testimony from close Trump aides involved in efforts to help him subvert the 2020 election. Prosecutors charged him in November 2021, three weeks after the House voted to hold him in contempt,” the outlet added.
“I want to thank all you guys for coming,” Bannon said entering the courthouse Friday. “Remember this illegitimate regime, their judgment day is on eight November when the Biden administration ends. I want to thank you all for coming.”
He added, “And remember, take down the CCP. Thank you.”
Last week, the Department of Justice made its recommendation for prison time in Bannon’s ongoing case and asked for six months behind bars, CNN reported.
“For his sustained, bad-faith contempt of Congress, the Defendant should be sentenced to six months’ imprisonment – the top end of the Sentencing Guidelines’ range – and fined $200,000 – based on his insistence on paying the maximum fine rather than cooperate with the Probation Office’s routine pre-sentencing financial investigation,” the department said in a court filing on Monday.
The Department of Justice said that Bannon “freely answered questions about his family, professional life, personal background, and health. But the Defendant refused to disclose his financial records, instead insisting that he is willing and able to pay any fine imposed, including the maximum fine on each count of conviction.”
“The rioters who overran the Capitol on January 6 did not just attack a building – they assaulted the rule of law upon which this country was built and through which it endures. By flouting the Select Committee’s subpoena and its authority, the Defendant exacerbated that assault,” it said.
In July, attorney and former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz argued that former advisor to former President Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, did not get a fair trial and that his conviction was likely to be negated.
The attorney said that Bannon was never going to get a fair trial in Washington D.C. because of the demographics of the city.
He made the case when he appeared on the Newsmax show “The Record” with host Greta Van Susteren.
“What do you think of this verdict, and what do you think of what’s likely to happen to him?” the host said.
“Entirely predictable and entirely in violation of the Constitution. The only provision of the Constitution which appears basically twice is trial by jury, in front of a fair jury. Number one he didn’t have a fair jury. Number two the judge took his defenses away from him. The judge denied him a jury trial. They wouldn’t allow him to put on evidence that he believed there was an executive privilege involved and he wanted a judicial determination before he violated the executive privilege. That issue could not be presented to the jury,” he said.
Bannon was referencing the Jan. 6 Committee, which was hand-selected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The California Democrat also, in an unprecedented manner, refused to allow Republicans to seat their own members, which led House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other members to declare the panel a politicized sham.
