Steve Bannon’s latest efforts to avoid a jail term hit a turning point this week as the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit denied his request to challenge his conviction for contempt of Congress. In 2021, the former White House advisor openly defied a subpoena issued by the House January 6 Select Committee, regarding his involvement in the unsuccessful plot to overturn the certification of President Biden’s electoral victory. This court decision again highlights Bannon’s contempt and avoidance of the rule of law.
The audacious defiance of Bannon and his colleague Peter Navarro, themselves key figures in the so-called Green Bay Sweep, received significant attention. Rather than cooperating with the committee, Bannon and Navarro publicly dismissed the summonses, refusing even to attend a hearing to plead the Fifth Amendment protections or assert executive privilege. As the circuit court noted, Bannon’s claim of executive privilege was especially unusual, given the fact he was removed from his White House position back in 2017.
The court also highlighted that there was no explicit assertion of privilege in a letter from Trump’s attorney Justin Clark, and in fact, the communication was quite contradictory to what Bannon had presented to the Committee. The lack of merit in Bannon’s bid to overturn his conviction was further underscored when his attempt to argue about the improper constitution of the Committee was dismissed, as he had not raised these issues before the Committee and therefore forfeited his rights to contest them.
Bannon’s current plight puts him in line with Peter Navarro, who is presently under custody in a federal facility following a refusal by Judge Amit Mehta to prolong his four-month imprisonment sentence. Despite this setback, Bannon still has a window to request a review or a stay from the Supreme Court. This development is another stumbling block for Bannon, who in the past, was mysteriously pardoned by former President Trump for defrauding donors for his border wall project, and currently faces indictment in New York for the same reason.
For additional details, refer to the legal documents in US v. Bannon and US v. Bannon (Docket via Court Listener).