Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist of former President Donald Trump, was sentenced to four months behind bars on Friday for contempt of Congress by a U.S. District Judge.
U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols also imposed a $6,500 fine on Bannon. Bannon could avoid serving any time behind bars since Nichols permitted him to go free pending the outcome of his appeals. Bannon has until November 15 to self-surrender if he does not file an appeal.
According to Nichols, who stated this earlier in the hearings, “Bannon hasn’t expressed any regret for his actions.” For his part, Bannon chose not to speak in court.
The former White House strategist remarked, “My lawyers have spoken for me, your honor.” An attorney for Bannon had just finished a fierce soliloquy in which he denied that his client had broken any laws.
Steve Bannon found guilty in July
Bannon was found guilty by a jury in July on two counts related to his refusal to comply with a subpoena for papers and a deposition. Less than three hours were spent deliberating by the jurors.
Before the case went to trial, Judge Nichols disallowed Bannon’s anticipated defenses because it was argued they were primarily unrelated to the crimes for which he was being charged.
The “most severe guidelines-compliant penalty” available, according to federal prosecutors, that should be given is six months in prison.
They argued in their sentencing memo that “a person could not have shown greater contempt” than Bannon in his defiance of Congress, and they echoed a similar sentiment in court.
J.P. Cooney, an assistant US attorney, said, “He has consistently behaved as if he is above the law. He is not.” “Regardless of their means, rank, and the influence of their friends, everyone guilty of a crime should be subjected to the same principle,” Cooney continued.
Attorney for Steve Bannon
David Schoen, Bannon’s lawyer and Trump’s impeachment lawyer, claimed he could think of a worse way to disrespect Congress. “Screw you, Congress!’, shove your subpoena in the trash: would have been a more outrageous act of disdain for the legislature,” Schoen stated.
Although the maximum term for each count of conviction is one year, Bannon has never been found guilty of a crime, and the federal sentencing guidelines call for a sentence much shorter than two years in prison.
Per Law & Crime, Bannon also faces prosecution in New York for allegedly plotting to defraud supporters of We Build the Wall, a crowdfunding initiative to erect a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, for which November 2023 has been set aside for the case’s trial.
READ MORE
- More police officers are committing suicide due to ‘demonization’, expert says
- Two fathers shot each other’s daughters during a road rage incident
- San Diego police officers are resigning massively over an oversight commission