WASHINGTON – A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld the conviction of Steve Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress.
After a trial in 2022, Bannon was found guilty and sentenced to four months in prison. However, the trial judge suspended Bannon’s sentence and allowed him to be released pending an appeal.
Mr. Bannon still has the option of asking the full court of the D.C. Circuit to hear his case, or he could petition the Supreme Court for rehearing.
The judge’s order will not officially go into effect until seven days after further appeal attempts are resolved, according to an order issued by the D.C. Circuit. That means it’s unlikely Mr. Bannon will have to report to prison immediately.
In a statement Friday night, Mr. Bannon’s lawyers said they would ask the entire D.C. Circuit to hear his case.
“Mr. Bannon will now seek relief before the full Court of Appeals,” David I. Schoen said. “That’s the next step.”
“There are a number of fundamentally important constitutional issues at issue in this case,” Schoen said. “Today’s decision is wrong as a matter of law and reflects a very dangerous view of the standards of criminal responsibility for defendants in our country and the standards of future political abuse of Congressional hearings.”
Bannon, a former close aide to former President Donald Trump, was charged with two counts of contempt of Congress in July 2022 for failing to comply with subpoenas for documents and testimony issued by a jury investigating Congress. He was found guilty and sentenced. January 6, 2021, Rebellion.
Bannon’s lawyers argued in an appeals court last fall to overturn his four-month prison sentence, arguing that Trump had invoked executive privilege, preventing his client from responding to the subpoena. In addition to the prison term, Mr. Bannon was given a $6,500 fine.
