Capitol Attack Inquiry: Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon has been jailed for refusing to testify about the Capitol attack

Steve Bannon, a prominent figure on the American right who served as a senior strategist for former President Donald Trump, was sentenced to four months in prison by a judge for refusing to cooperate with lawmakers over last year’s attack by a professional on the… US Capitol Investigated – Trump Mob.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols also fined Bannon $6,500 ($10,298) during a sentencing hearing.

Bannon was convicted by a jury in July of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to produce documents or testimony.

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Each of the two cases was punishable by a minimum of one month and a maximum of one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 (US$158,425).

Prosecutors on Monday asked the judge to sentence Bannon to six months in prison, while Bannon’s attorneys had requested parole.

At Friday’s hearing, prosecutor JP Cooney said Bannon chose to “turn his nose up at Congress.”

He “is not above the law, and that’s what makes this case so important,” Cooney said.

A jury of eight men and four women convicted Bannon for refusing to testify or produce documents required by the House Special Committee to Inquire into the March 6 attack on the Capitol.

Bannon, 68, was a key adviser to Republican Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, then served as his chief White House strategist in 2017 before a falling out between them that was later patched up.

Bannon helped articulate the right-wing “America First” populism and staunch opposition to immigration that are shaping Trump’s presidency.

Bannon has played an instrumental role in right-wing media, promoting right-wing causes and candidates in the United States and abroad.

A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and attacked police with batons, sledgehammers, flagpoles, tasers, chemical irritants, metal pipes, rocks, metal guard rails and other weapons in an attempt to block congressional attestation of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Bannon declined to address the judge ahead of Friday’s sentencing.

His attorney, David Schoen, said in a lengthy diatribe that Bannon relied on his attorneys’ advice not to obey a congressional subpoena after Trump invoked executive privilege, a legal doctrine that some White House communications pre-disclosure protects.

“A more egregious contempt for Congress would have been to say, ‘Fuck Congress, take your subpoena and pass it!'” Schoen said.

According to the Jan. 6 committee, Bannon spoke to Trump at least twice the day before the attack, attended a planning meeting at a Washington hotel, and said on his right-wing podcast that “all hell will break loose tomorrow.”

At his trial, prosecutors only called two witnesses, while Bannon’s defense team did not call any.

Bannon chose not to testify.

Bannon’s lawyers have said they will appeal his conviction.

Trump called to testify

Bannon’s conviction comes as former US President Donald Trump was ordered to testify under oath and submit documents to the House Committee investigating his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol.

The committee said on Friday it had sent a subpoena to Trump, requiring that documents be presented to the panel by November 4 and that he be present on or about November 14.

Testimony often relates to the videotaped behind-closed-door questioning of a witness that is on record. Such testimonies could be published and become part of a final report of the special committee.

“As demonstrated in our hearings, we have amassed overwhelming evidence, including from dozens of your former appointees and associates, that you personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-pronged effort to overthrow the 2020 presidential election and impede the peaceful transfer of power,” the writer wrote Committee on Friday in a letter to Trump.

Trump, who regularly refers to the body as an “unselected committee,” has accused it of unfair political attacks against him while refusing to investigate its allegations of widespread voter fraud.

He is unlikely to cooperate with the subpoena and may simply seek to time out a committee whose mandate is likely to end early next year if Republicans win a majority in the House of Representatives in November’s midterm elections.

– With Patricia Zengerle