Ex-Trump Aide Jailed For Contempt of Congress: After being found in contempt of Congress for defying the investigation into the uprising on January 6, Steve Bannon was given a four-month prison term and ordered to pay a $6,500 fine.
The 68-year-old was found guilty of two charges of contempt of Congress in July; one charge related to his refusal to take a deposition and the other to turn over documents. While Bannon’s attorneys believed their client deserved a probationary term, prosecutors had requested the judge in his case to impose a severe penalty of six months in jail.
Additionally, the prosecution argued for the highest possible fine of $200,000, claiming that Bannon had refused to respond to basic inquiries about his income and asserted he could pay whatever the judge ordered.
Bannon’s role in Mr. Trump’s plans to rig the 2020 presidential election was the subject of the House committee’s request for his testimony. Prosecutors stated that Bannon has not yet testified or given the committee any documents.
He had pursued a “bad faith strategy,” according to the prosecution, and it was clear from his public criticism of the committee that he intended to thwart their investigation into the violent attack and efforts to prevent anything similar from happening in the future.
When Bannon was initially served with a committee subpoena last year, Trump objected on the grounds of executive privilege, according to the defense, which said Bannon wasn’t operating in bad faith. The former presidential advisor claimed that the committee would not permit a Trump lawyer to be present in the meeting.
Other former White House officials who testified only on their own behalf included a large number. Bannon was a private citizen and no longer employed by the White House when he advised the president prior to the riot. He had been fired from that position in 2017.
#BREAKING: Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has been sentenced to 4 months in prison after he refused to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. https://t.co/ZOBwCNPnrU
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) October 21, 2022
Bannon added that when Trump waived executive privilege, he had offered to testify. However, that was following the filing of the contempt charges, and according to the prosecution, he would only agree to do the deposition if the matter was dropped.
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