Steve Bannon, a long-time ally of former US president Donald Trump, must report to prison by July 1 to serve his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the attack on the US Capitol, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.
US District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington granted prosecutors’ request to make Bannon begin serving his prison term after a three-judge panel of a federal appeal court last month upheld his contempt of Congress conviction. But Nichols also made clear on Thursday in his ruling that Bannon could seek a stay of his order, which could delay his surrender date.
Bannon’s lawyer at trial argued the charges were politically motivated and that the former adviser did not ignore the subpoena but was still engaged in good-faith negotiations with the congressional committee when he was charged.
The defence has said Bannon had been acting on the advice of his lawyer at the time, who told him that the subpoena was invalid because the committee would not allow a Trump lawyer in the room, and that Bannon could not determine what documents or testimony he could provide because Trump has asserted executive privilege.
Defence lawyer David Schoen told the judge they had planned to ask the full US Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, if necessary, to review the matter. Schoen said it would be unfair to send Bannon to prison now because he would have already completed his sentence before those rulings could be handed down.
“That might serve a political agenda; but it would be a grave injustice,” Schoen wrote in court papers.
Navarro had maintained that he could not cooperate with the committee because Trump had invoked executive privilege. But courts have rejected that argument, finding Navarro could not prove Trump had actually invoked it.