A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has ordered Steve Bannon, longtime ally of former President Trump, to report to prison on July 1.
Judge Carl Nichols’ decision revokes Bannon’s bail. Bannon lost an appeal of his contempt of Congress conviction in May. Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison for ignoring a Congressional subpoena to testify regarding the January 6 capitol riot.
Bannon has yet to comment on Nichols’ ruling.
Bannon claimed he acted on the advice of his legal team and did not intend to break the law. Judge Bradley Garcia wrote that an acting on “advice of counsel” defense is “no defense at all.”
Bannon was first sentenced in October 2022. The sentence also included a $6,500 fine. DOJ prosecutors in the case had sought a 6-month sentence and a $200,000 fine.
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“I want to say one thing — I respect the judge, the sentence he came down with today is his decision. I’ve been totally respectful to this entire process on the legal side,” Bannon said after the sentencing.
Bannon’s defense team had argued that his attorney at the time he received the subpoena, Robert Costello, advised his client that he was not permitted, as a matter of law, in any way to respond to the notice, saying executive privilege had been raised and that it was not his privilege to waive. Costello wrote the committee to inform them that Bannon would comply if the panel worked out any privilege issues with former President Trump or if a court ordered him to comply, Bannon’s current attorney David Schoen said.
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“In America, we do not criminally prosecute, let alone convict and send to prison people who not only don’t believe their conduct to be wrongful or in violation of the law, but, as in this case, people who follow the advice of their lawyers who tell them that the law does not permit them to comply with a congressional subpoena when executive privilege has been invoked,” Schoen said last month.
This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.
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