Steve Bannon, the former advisor to President Trump, has approached the Supreme Court to challenge his contempt of Congress conviction. This stems from his failure to comply with requests from a now-disbanded January 6 committee.
Bannon received a four-month prison sentence due to not appearing for a deposition mandated by the committee and for refusing to submit documents it subpoenaed.
Even though he has completed his sentence, Bannon’s appeal seeks to clear his record of this conviction and set a higher standard for future contempt charges.
“Political winds shift, but the standards for criminal prosecution should remain constant, especially concerning laws that influence the separation of powers,” his petition states.
This petition was submitted on Friday, though it still awaits formal documentation. A copy has been provided to The Hill by Bannon’s lawyer.
The Supreme Court may review the appeal later this term, especially after the government’s written response.
This development follows the Court’s earlier denial of an emergency request from Peter Navarro, a trade advisor, to postpone his sentence while he appeals a similar contempt charge.
Bannon’s appeal centers largely on his attorneys’ counsel to postpone complying with the January 6 committee until a dispute over executive privilege was settled. To convict him of contempt, the law stipulates he must have “willfully” disregarded the committee.
Bannon asserted that he believed his actions were not intentional, as he didn’t realize they were illegal—yet lower courts have determined that the government only needs to prove the noncompliance was intentional, irrespective of his reasoning.
Bannon’s legal team criticized the lower court’s decision, arguing that its interpretation conflicts with 150 years of Supreme Court precedent, undermines fundamental interpretive norms, and jeopardizes the separation of powers.
Furthermore, the petition challenges the validity of the January 6 commission itself. Bannon contends that the subpoena was illegitimate because the committee’s composition did not align with the House resolution that established it. The committee is supposed to have 13 members, including five chosen in consultation with minority leaders.
When then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected several nominees from then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, he withdrew the remainder, leading to a committee that was primarily Democratic—seven Democrats and two Republicans, all selected by Pelosi.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit determined this was merely a procedural issue and claimed Bannon had forfeited his rights by not addressing the matter with the committee directly.
