Former White House official Steve Bannon’s appeal of his contempt of Congress conviction was denied on Friday, resulting in a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. He will continue to be sentenced to prison for ignoring the law.
The three-party U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said in a 20-page opinion that granting Bannon’s appeal would “thwart Congress’s investigative powers.”
Mr. Bannon has maintained that he acted on the advice of his legal team and did not intend to violate any laws. Judge Bradley Garcia said acting in a defense based on “advice of counsel” is “not a defense per se.”
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Steve Bannon appears in a New York courtroom on January 12, 2023. A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the criminal conviction of a longtime ally of President Donald Trump who failed to comply with a subpoena from a House committee investigating the Capitol attack.
“As both this court and the Supreme Court have repeatedly explained, any rule to the contrary would violate the text of the contempt statute and interfere with Congress’ investigative powers,” Garcia wrote. “We affirm that there is no basis for departing from that binding precedent, and that other challenges to Mr. Bannon’s convictions are without merit.”
Bannon, 70, was sentenced in October 2022 to four months in prison and a $6,500 fine for ignoring a congressional subpoena.
Bannon said after the ruling: “I want to say one thing: I respect the judge. The sentence handed down today was the judge’s decision. I have completely respected this entire process on the legal side.” ” he said.
Bannon’s attorney, David Schoen, told Fox News Digital that Bannon plans to appeal Friday’s ruling.
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President Donald Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon appears in Manhattan Supreme Court. (Curtis Means Pool/Getty Images)
“Many fundamentally important constitutional issues are at issue in this case,” Schoen said in a statement. “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.”
At the time Mr. Schoen received the subpoena, Mr. Bannon’s attorney, Robert Costello, advised his client that presidential privilege had been elevated and that he was not legally permitted to respond to the notice in any way. He pointed out that he had done so. It is not his prerogative to give it up. Mr. Costello sent a letter to the committee informing him that Mr. Bannon would comply if the committee resolved the privilege issue with former President Trump or if a court ordered Mr. Bannon to comply, Mr. Schon said. .
“In the United States, we do not criminally prosecute, let alone convict, people who not only do not believe that what they are doing is illegal or against the law, but who follow government advice as they did in this case. We’re not going to send him to prison. Lawyers have told us that the law doesn’t allow him to comply with a Congressional subpoena when executive privilege is invoked,” Schoen said.
Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon waves to members of the media as he leaves federal court in Washington, D.C. (Craig Hudson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Other officials who served under the Trump administration also reported to prison. Former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison in a Miami correctional facility in March for contempt of Congress.
“I’m going to walk out there proudly to spend my time,” Navarro said at a news conference before his appearance. “I am now gathering strength. Donald John Trump is the candidate.”
