Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon loses appeal of prison sentence, meaning he will be in jail within days

A federal appeals court has rejected former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s request to stay out of prison while he appeals his conviction for refusing to subpoena him to testify in the investigation into the attack on the Capitol.

Bannon’s bid was rejected Thursday by a three-judge panel before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia after issuing a 2-to-1 ruling in which two judges said his arguments did not raise a “substantial issue” of law that could trigger his overturn conviction.

“Bannon’s proposition—that in order to prove willful default, the government must show that a witness knew his conduct was unlawful—is incompatible with the Supreme Court’s approach to the statute,” Justices Cornelia Pillard and Bradley Garcia said in the order .

A third justice, Justin Walker, said in a two-page dissent that “Bannon should not be sent to prison until the Supreme Court considers his upcoming petition.”

On Friday, Bannon filed an appeal to the nation’s highest court.

He must report to a federal prison by July 1 to serve his four-month prison sentence.

Thursday’s ruling also said Bannon “knew what the subpoena required and yet intentionally refused to appear or produce any of the requested documents.”

In 2022, a jury found him guilty of contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with a subpoena from a House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The former adviser managed to avoid prison over the past few years by appealing his verdict. In May, his sentence was upheld, and in early June, a federal judge granted prosecutors’ request to modify the suspension of his sentence.

Bannon, who opposes the decision, filed an emergency motion last week with the Washington Court of Appeals, asking that it lift a lower court’s order requiring him to report to prison.

“The government seeks to imprison Mr. Bannon for the four months leading up to the November election, when millions of Americans turn to him for information on important campaign issues,” Bannon’s lawyer wrote.

“However, while in prison, Mr. Bannon’s ability to campaign and comment on important political issues would be drastically reduced, if not eliminated.”

Bannon was found in contempt of Congress on two counts — including two counts of refusing to appear for an interview with the committee on Jan. 6 and then refusing to produce documents related to his efforts to support Trump’s campaign to overturn the former president’s 2020 election defeat.

“This is about shutting down the MAGA movement, grassroots conservatives and President Trump,” Bannon told reporters after a brief court appearance on June 6. “Not only do we win, but we will overcome… Nothing can silence me and nothing will silence me.”

It says it will use all legal means available to appeal the verdict, including taking the case to the Supreme Court.

“No prison was built or built to silence me,” Bannon said earlier this month.

Bannon’s four-month sentence mirrors that of former Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who also refused to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol.

Independent has reached out to Bannon’s representatives for comment.