Steve Bannon Asks Court of Appeals to Allow Him to Remain Out of Prison While He Fights Contempt of Congress Conviction
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon asked a federal appeals court on Tuesday to let him stay out of prison while he continues to appeal a nearly two-year conviction on criminal contempt of Congress charges.
Bannon filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday night, asking the court to overturn a lower court’s ruling last week ordering him to report to prison for four months in July 1st.
Bannon is asking the D.C. Circuit to quickly consider his motion — by June 18 — to give him time, if necessary, to appeal to the Supreme Court his conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress in 2022, after refusing to respond to the January 6 House Committee questions.
Bannon’s lawyer argued in Tuesday’s filing that his arrest would prevent the Trump ally from serving as a “significant advisor” in the campaign leading up to the November election.
“The government intends to arrest Mr. Bannon during the four-month period leading up to the November elections, when millions of Americans turn to him for information on important campaign issues,” wrote Trent McCotter, a new addition to the legal team by Bannon. “It would also effectively prevent Mr. Bannon from serving as a meaningful advisor to the ongoing national campaign.”
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit last month upheld Bannon’s contempt of Congress’ conviction, leading the judge presiding over Bannon’s case to rule that he must report to prison at the end of the month.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, appointed by former President Donald Trump, said last week that the “original basis” for his suspension of Bannon’s sentence no longer existed after an appeals court upheld the conviction.
Nichols had previously allowed Bannon to remain out of prison while he pursued his appeal.
Bannon’s lawyers said they intend to ask the full D.C. Circuit bench to review their client’s appeal and that Bannon should not be required to appear in jail until all avenues of appeal have been exhausted.
A prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C., who sought to lift the suspension of Bannon’s sentence pending appeal, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison, the same sentence currently served by former Trump advisor Peter Navarro.
Navarro also fought to stay out of prison following his conviction on contempt of Congress charges.
The former Trump aide took his emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, where it was rejected first by Chief Justice John Roberts and a second time by the full court. Navarro is serving a four-month sentence in a federal prison in Miami.
