The Supreme Court has denied Steve Bannon’s request to avoid serving prison time while his appeal is pending, Breitbart reported. The former Trump campaign strategist and adviser is convicted of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena.
The January 6 Select Committee demanded Bannon, who served as former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, testify in their probe of the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Bannon refused to appear and was sentenced to four months behind bars.
His conviction was upheld but will now go before the Supreme Court for further review. On Friday, the court flatly refused to allow Bannon to remain free pending the outcome.
The conservative podcast host will report on July 1 to begin his sentence. Bannon joins former Trump adviser Peter Navarro in serving time for refusing the committee’s subpoena.
Bannon has reached the end of the road with his emergency petition to the Supreme Court. Given the relatively short sentence, it’s likely that he’ll serve most of it before the court rules anyway.
The one-line denial for a stay to his sentence came from Chief Justice John Roberts, who is in charge of reviewing emergency motions from Washington, D.C. courts. Prosecutors had argued that Bannon “cannot make the demanding showing necessary to override the normal requirement that a convicted defendant begin serving his sentence,” The Hill reported.
Roberts apparently agreed with that assessment. However, Bannon believes this resolve to throw him in prison has political motivations behind it.
“There is also no denying the fact that the government seeks to imprison Mr. Bannon for the four-month period immediately preceding the November presidential election. There is no reason for that outcome in a case that presents substantial legal issues,” Bannon’s attorney R. Trent McCotter wrote to the Supreme Court.
This timing applies not only to Bannon’s conviction, but also to the entirety of the investigation. It seems the justice system is out to get Trump, and the leftists are happy to inflict collateral damage on people like Bannon.
Even in the face of what he believes to be a political prosecution, Bannon remains fearless. He said is prepared to “save his country” in an interview with Tucker Carlson earlier this month, The Wrap reported.
He likened his ordeal to his Navy service. “In my twenties I served my country on a Navy destroyer, and in my seventies I’ll serve my country in a federal prison,” Bannon told Carlson.
“It doesn’t make any difference to me. It won’t change my life in one way,” Bannon added.
“If I have to be a political prisoner, I’ll be a political prisoner. I don’t bat one eye. Whatever it takes to win this revolution, we’ve got to do,” Bannon said.
Although Bannon did defy the subpoena, the premise of the investigation appears increasingly political. What’s happening to Trump and the people who surround him should concern all Americans.
