The Department of Justice has filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to reject Steve Bannon’s emergency appeal to avoid prison after he was convicted of contempt of Congress.
Bannon, a former senior adviser to former President Trump, was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress in 2022 after failing to appear before a House committee and refusing to turn over documents on Jan. 6. A federal judge sentenced him to four months in prison.
Federal prosecutors said Bannon’s appeal did not meet the “exceptional” standard that would merit not serving time in prison while his appeal is ongoing.
Bannon “has completely failed to comply with the subpoena,” Attorney General Elizabeth Preloger said in court, “failing to produce any documents or appearing for scheduled testimony.”
“He cannot make the rigorous showing necessary to set aside the normal requirement that a convicted defendant begin serving his sentence,” she wrote.
Bannon’s emergency motion argues he should be released as his appeal proceeds, adding that prosecutors’ efforts to jail him are politically motivated.
The Justice Department’s filing came just hours after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said House Republican leadership would file an amicus brief in support of the appeal.
“The amicus brief, which will be filed after Mr. Bannon files a petition for en banc review, will be non-partisan,” Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said in a joint statement.
“We retract several assertions made by the House of Representatives in the early stages of its litigation regarding the formation of a special committee in the previous Congress to investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol,” the group continued. “House Republican leadership continues to believe that Speaker Pelosi abused her power in forming the special committee.”
Republicans have long opposed the special committee’s subpoenas on Jan. 6, arguing they were improperly constructed. So far, those arguments have not been successful in court.
Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro is currently serving a four-month sentence after being convicted of contempt for similarly ignoring a Jan. 6 subpoena. He sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court but was turned down.
If the court rules against Bannon, he is scheduled to be handed over to prison on July 1st.
