A U.S. federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of Steve Bannon, a former top adviser to ex-President Donald Trump, for defying a subpoena from the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
This decision brings Bannon closer to serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress, although he can still pursue further appeals.
Bannon was initially convicted in 2022 on two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with requests for documents or to testify before the House of Representatives committee examining the Capitol riot. Despite his conviction, he has been permitted to remain free while appealing his case.
In his appeal, Bannon argued that his lawyer had advised him that he was not obligated to comply with the subpoena, thus he did not intend to commit a crime.
However, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected this argument, stating that accepting it would undermine Congress’s investigative authority and make it harder to hold witnesses accountable for defying congressional investigations.
Representatives for Bannon, including his lawyer and spokesperson, have not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the recent ruling. Bannon still has the option to appeal the decision further, either to the full D.C. Circuit court or to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The congressional panel, led by Democrats, had been investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, culminating in the violent events of Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the electoral vote.
Bannon, a prominent figure on the American right, was sought for information by the committee, particularly due to his prediction on a podcast the day before the riot that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”
Bannon’s refusal to cooperate with the committee’s investigation was denounced by some as politically motivated, a sentiment echoed by other Trump allies who also defied subpoenas from the same committee.
Notably, former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro is currently serving a four-month prison sentence for his refusal to comply with the committee’s demands.
Comments