A Republican lawmaker has proposed a plan to prevent Steve Bannon, a former top political advisor to then-President Donald Trump, from going to prison after a federal judge ordered him to report later this month. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky tweeted, “Why don’t we rescind the Congressional subpoena for Steve Bannon and officially repudiate the J6 committee by a vote of Congress.
This call comes after U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ordered Bannon on Thursday to report to prison on July 1 to serve a four-month sentence for ignoring a congressional subpoena and being convicted of contempt of Congress. Following the judge’s ruling, Bannon addressed the cameras outside the courthouse, reiterating his intention to appeal his conviction and criticizing top officials at the Justice Department, as reported by ABC News.
All of this is about one thing. Shutting down the MAGA movement. Shutting down grassroots conservatives, shutting down President Trump,” Bannon said. He further stated that “there’s not a prison built or jail built that will ever shut me up.
Bannon was sentenced to four months for contempt of Congress in October 2022 after he was found guilty of defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Judge Nichols initially agreed to postpone Bannon’s jail term while he appealed the conviction. However, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Bannon’s conviction last month, leading federal prosecutors to request that the judge order Bannon to begin his four-month sentence.
In response to Massie’s tweet, one user suggested personally walking over to Johnson’s office and making the request. Massie responded by saying that he would need public support in order for Johnson to take action. He has to hear from Americans. You can stay on the couch, just pick up your phone and dial,” Massie wrote.
Bannon is the second former Trump advisor to be sent to prison for contempt of Congress for the same reason. Peter Navarro received a four-month jail sentence in January due to his refusal to comply with a subpoena regarding the congressional inquiry into the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. He was convicted on two counts, each of which carries a one-month prison sentence. Prosecutors urged U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta to impose a six-month sentence for each count and to impose a fine of $200,000. They argued that the one-month sentence for each of the two charges “does not adequately address, penalize, and discourage the defendant’s criminal acts,” asserting that Navarro’s refusal to comply with the subpoenas was similar to the behavior of certain individuals involved in the riot.
The defendant, like the rioters at the Capitol, put politics, not country, first and stonewalled Congress’s investigation,” prosecutors wrote. The defendant chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over the rule of law.
