Federal Authorities Seeking for Steve Bannon to Start Serving Jail Sentence

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday requested that Steve Bannon, a former adviser to ex-President Donald Trump, start serving his four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress.

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Bannon’s conviction for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Prosecutors argued that there is no legal basis for Judge Carl Nichols to further delay Bannon’s sentence.

“Consequently, there is no longer a ‘substantial question of law that is likely to result in a reversal or an order for a new trial,'” prosecutors wrote in their filing, as reported by ABC News.

Nichols had permitted Bannon to remain free while appealing his case.

Responding to the prosecutors’ request, Bannon stated to ABC News: “I’m shocked they want to silence the voice of MAGA.”

Bannon was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to testify and provide documents related to his involvement in Trump’s actions on January 6.

During the trial, Bannon had argued that his testimony was protected by executive privilege claimed by Trump. However, the House panel and the Justice Department disagreed, citing Bannon’s status as a private citizen at the time of the events in question.

Despite arguing his actions were not in bad faith, Bannon’s defense claimed he was trying to navigate around Trump’s executive privilege objections. Bannon also requested a Trump lawyer be present during his testimony, but the committee rejected this request.

This story includes contributions from The Associated Press.