Everything We Know About Steve Bannon's Sentencing
Recently, the House Committee on January 6 wrapped up its work before the upcoming midterm elections. Previously, the committee subpoenaed Steve Bannon in an effort to gather information and paperwork regarding the attack on the U.S. Capitol. As reported by CBS News, the former Donald Trump White House advisor refused to cooperate, claiming his lawyers were concerned about executive privilege and counseled him not to comply. Days before his July 2022 trial, however, he did agree to testify after Trump sent Bannon a letter waiving executive privilege. Even so, the trial proceedings went ahead, with prosecutors writing, "The Defendant attempted to leverage the information he had unlawfully withheld from the Committee to engineer dismissal of his criminal prosecution."
Besides his refusal to accommodate the House Committee's request, Bannon made derogatory remarks about the committee, and its chairman, congressman Bennie Thompson. "Bennie Thompson is a total, absolute disgrace, and this show trial they're running is a disgrace," Bannon said, per The Washington Post.
As a result of the trial, Bannon was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress, per The New York Times. The jury rendered the guilty verdict in under three hours (via NPR). Now, legal proceedings have moved forward, and a federal judge has provided sentencing for this conviction.
Steve Bannon is sentenced to four months in prison
On October 21, 2022, Steve Bannon was sentenced to four months' imprisonment and fined $6,500 by Judge Carl J. Nichols, a federal judge who was appointed by former president Donald Trump. "Others must be deterred from committing similar crimes," said Judge Nichols, per The New York Times.
Judge Nichols' sentence was two months less than what federal prosecutors recommended. Citing Bannon's "bad faith strategy of defiance and contempt," they also proposed a much larger fine of $200,000, per NPR. However, the judge countered this argument, claiming that Bannon's naval service and lack of a criminal record, along with ambiguous legal questions about executive privilege merited the final decision (via The New York Times). According to The Guardian, the minimum sentence by law is two months' imprisonment (one per count).
The judge has ruled that Bannon's incarceration won't begin until November 15, or longer if he chooses to appeal his sentence. Bannon has affirmed plans of an appeal, saying, "We'll have a very vigorous appeals process — I've got a great legal team. There'll be multiple areas of appeal," per CBS News.
Besides this appeal, Bannon and his legal team will be dealing with his recent indictment by New York prosecutors. As reported by The New York Times, Bannon faces charges involving a proposed project to build a border wall. The charges include money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy. If convicted of the most serious charge, Bannon could face a sentence of five to 15 years imprisonment.