Steve Bannon: Appeals Court Upholds Contempt of Congress Conviction for Defying Jan. 6 Subpoena

CNN
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A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the contempt of Congress conviction of Steve Bannon, the former aide to former President Donald Trump who was found guilty after failing to comply with a Jan. 6 House committee subpoena.

Bannon’s conviction – and now, the DC Circuit’s affirmation of that conviction – is a boost to Congress’s influence in its efforts to gain cooperation in its investigations.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously rejected several of Bannon’s challenges to the case, including his claim that the trial court excluded evidence he should have been allowed to present to the jury in his defense.

Bannon was sentenced to four months in federal prison, and that sentence was also upheld on Friday by the appeals court. The decision could pave the way for Bannon to eventually report to prison, although the timing is unclear.

The judge presiding over Bannon’s trial previously agreed to let him delay serving his sentence while his appeal was completed. In its ruling Friday, the three-judge appeals panel gave Bannon time to appeal its decision to the full D.C.-based appeals court before formally notifying the trial judge that the conviction was upheld.

Bannon could also appeal directly to the Supreme Court for additional appeals, possibly further delaying the time when he needs to begin serving his prison sentence.

Bannon’s lawyers did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

In the new D.C. Circuit ruling, Judge Bradley Garcia, appointed by President Joe Biden, supported the trial judge’s exclusion from a counsel defense, as Bannon claimed he rejected the subpoena because of alleged executive privilege concerns expressed to him by his lawyer.

“This exact defense of ‘advice of counsel’ is no defense at all,” Garcia wrote, noting that contempt law only required proof that Bannon “willfully and intentionally” failed to respond to the subpoena.

His opinion was joined by Judge Cornelia Pillard, appointed by former President Barack Obama, and Judge Justin Walker, appointed by Trump.

The appeals court noted that “the communications from former President Trump’s attorney” upon which Bannon attempted to rely to defend his conduct were not intended to “authorize Bannon’s refusal to produce any documents or appear for his deposition.”

The D.C. Circuit also rejected Bannon’s argument that the House select committee that investigated the January 6 insurrection was inadequately formed.

“These objections suffer from a common defect,” the justices wrote. “Bannon did not raise them before the Select Committee and therefore lost them.”

Bannon is one of two former members of Trump’s inner circle who were prosecuted for not participating in the House investigation on January 6. The second, former Trump White House advisor Peter Navarro, is currently serving a four-month prison sentence for his 2023 conviction.

When the now-defunct House panel sought documents and testimony from Bannon in 2021, it pointed to alleged communications between Bannon and Trump in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as well as comments Bannon made on his podcast the day before the attack . riot that “all hell will break loose tomorrow”.

Bannon served for some time in the Trump White House, but by the time of Trump’s crusade to overturn his 2020 election defeat, Bannon had already left the federal government.

This story has been updated with additional details and background information.