The U.S. Supreme Court has denied former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s request to remain out of prison while he appeals his conviction for contempt of Congress. Bannon, who was sentenced to four months in prison in October 2022, was found guilty of defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols had initially postponed Bannon’s jail term while he appealed the conviction, but ordered him to report to prison by July 1 after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction last month.
Bannon’s emergency appeal to the Supreme Court was filed last Friday in an attempt to stay out of prison. The Supreme Court’s brief order did not provide a vote breakdown or an explanation for denying his request. This decision means Bannon must report to prison to begin serving his sentence.
The appeals court’s decision to deny Bannon’s request was made by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The panel ruled 2-1 against Bannon, with Judges Cornelia Pillard and Bradley Garcia stating that Bannon’s arguments did not present a “substantial question” of law that could reverse his conviction. Judge Justin Walker dissented, suggesting that Bannon’s state of mind when he refused to comply with the subpoena presented a “close question” that could be decided in his favor by the Supreme Court.
Bannon’s legal team had expressed their intention to seek relief from the Supreme Court if the appeals court ruled against them. However, their emergency motion filed on June 11 was unsuccessful. Bannon’s lawyer, Trent McCotter, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. David Schoen, a lawyer who previously represented Bannon, stated that he had quit the case after seeing the motion filed, claiming he had no involvement with it.
In May, an appeals court upheld Bannon’s conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena related to the Capitol attack. Bannon was convicted in 2022 and sentenced to four months in prison. The Supreme Court’s decision to deny Bannon’s request to stay out of prison follows a similar rejection earlier this year for former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro, who is currently serving a prison term for his own contempt of Congress convictions.
Navarro, like Bannon, did not comply with a subpoena from the House select panel and was convicted at trial. Both Bannon and Navarro have stated their intention to fight their convictions to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s brief order did not explain the reasoning behind denying Bannon’s request, likely moving the action in the appeal back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
House Republican leadership announced plans to file a brief supporting Bannon’s next appeal. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Majority Whip Tom Emmer claimed that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi “abused” her power in setting up the House select panel in 2021. They argued that the panel had been improperly appointed, an argument that Bannon and others have unsuccessfully made in court.
Bannon’s attorneys have argued that he relied on advice from his attorney that the subpoena sought information protected by executive privilege and that he did not have to respond. The Justice Department, in a filing at the Supreme Court, pointed out that Bannon had multiple opportunities to comply with the subpoena and should not be able to rely on his claims that his attorney advised him not to cooperate. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that allowing Bannon to avoid contempt charges by relying on his attorney’s advice would undermine congressional power.
In 2022, a federal jury convicted Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas from the House select Jan. 6 panel seeking testimony and documents related to the attack. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected Bannon’s attorneys’ argument that he was advised not to cooperate because of Trump’s executive privilege. Following the conviction, Nichols sentenced Bannon to a four-month prison term but allowed him to remain free pending his appeal.
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit found that there was no executive privilege involved in the subpoena, and even if there was, Bannon would have had to at least respond to the subpoena. After that ruling, Nichols ordered Bannon to report to prison for his sentence by July 1. Bannon’s attorneys then launched a last-minute plea to the D.C. Circuit, which ruled 2-1 to reject his effort to stay free pending a Supreme Court appeal.
Bannon, who has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s bid to regain the White House, may now be incarcerated on these misdemeanor charges through the election in November. He is also fighting fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy charges in New York state court over an alleged scheme to defraud donors to a charity that aimed to build a wall along the southern border. That case is scheduled for trial later this year. Trump granted Bannon a full pardon from federal charges related to We Build the Wall in January 2021, shortly before leaving the White House. However, presidents lack the power to issue pardons for state crimes.
Source: ABC News, NBC News, CQ Roll Call
