The United States federal prosecutor’s office requested this Monday six months in prison and a fine of 200,000 dollars for Steve Bannonthe former campaign manager of donald trump in the past presidential election and his political adviser, for defying a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the storming the capitol on January 6, 2021.
Prosecutors believe Bannon should receive a heavy sentence because he “followed a strategy of bad faith and contempt” and publicly discredited the committee itself, undermining the effort to get to the bottom of the truth about the attack and refusing to stop it from happening again. , prosecutors wrote in a motion to court. In addition, he has not yet provided any documents or answered any questions, they said.
“The rioters who invaded the Capitol on January 6 not only attacked a building, but also attacked the rule of law on which this country was built and for which it endures,” the federal lawyers argued, for whom “mocking the subpoena of the Select Committee and its authority, the defendant exacerbated that assault.”
This push Justice Department prosecutors have given to the case comes after the House committee took the extraordinary step last week of subpoenaing Trump himself, saying it is necessary to get the full story of what It happened on January 6. It’s unclear how Trump will respond to the subpoena, but refusing to comply could open a path similar to Bannon’s in court, though holding the former president in contempt of the Senate committee would be a tense and unprecedented process.
On the other hand, Bannon’s lawyers deny that he acted in bad faith. Consequently, they are asking for a sentence of probation, despite the fact that the two contempt charges each carry a mandatory minimum of one month in prison.
“Imposing a prison sentence under the circumstances of Mr. Bannon’s case would be contrary to fundamental constitutional principles of individualized sentencing and proportionality of sentences,” the defense attorneys replied. They also ask that the sentencing be halted while an appeal proceeds.
Bannon will be sentenced Friday on two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition and another for refusing to provide documents. The committee intends to hear from him about his involvement in Trump’s efforts to nullify the 2020 presidential election.
Donald Trump’s Political Guru Convicted of Contempt of Congress
Bannon initially argued that his testimony was protected by Trump’s executive privilege, but the committee objected because the former adviser was fired from the White House in 2017 and was therefore a private citizen at the time of January 6, 2021. .
Meanwhile, Trump’s own attorney told Bannon’s attorney in October 2021 that he did not believe there was immunity for him and that the former president was not telling him to defy the subpoena, according to Monday’s sentencing memorandum.
Bannon, however, argued that Trump raised executive privilege objections for himself, so his former adviser wanted an attorney for the former president to be there for any depositions. But the committee didn’t allow it either, so Bannon’s attorney deemed the subpoena invalid.
The truth is that the committee’s rules do not allow outside counsel to participate in a witness statement, and many other former White House aides testified only with their own counsel.
Defense attorneys argued during the trial that Bannon did not refuse to cooperate but that the deadlines “changed.” They pointed to the fact that his client had changed course shortly before the trial began, after Trump waived his objection, and offered to testify before the committee.
But that offer came with strings attached, federal prosecutors wrote, including the dismissal of the criminal case against him. When it became clear that was not in the cards, the possibility of cooperation fizzled out, according to court records.
Prosecutors also asked for a maximum fine, saying Bannon refused to cooperate with routine questions about his finances and said he could pay whatever the court ordered.
In July, Bannon was convicted after a four-day jury trial. Outside the courthouse, he compared the trial to a battle and said “we are not going to lose this war.” He later referred to the committee members as “cowards.” His lawyers acknowledged Monday that he has “strong political views.”
That was not the only time that Bannon discredited the committee in “exaggerated and violent” language, both in press conferences and in his podcast “War Room,” prosecutors wrote.
“The defendant’s statements prove that his contempt was not intended to protect executive privilege or the Constitution, but rather to undermine the committee’s efforts to investigate a historic attack on the government,” the court documents added.
