Bannon Asks Supreme Court to Keep Him Out of Jail During Appeal

Steve Bannon, a longtime adviser to former President Donald Trump, is asking the US Supreme Court to keep him out of prison while he fights to overturn his conviction for contempt of Congress.

The request was made after a divided appellate panel upheld a decision by US District Judge Carl Nichols that ordered Bannon to serve a four-month jail sentence starting July 1. Trump-appointed Judge Justin Walker, however, dissented.

A jury convicted Bannon, 70, for refusing to testify and provide documents to the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. A federal appeals court in May denied Bannon’s attempt to throw out his conviction. Nichols had originally stayed Bannon’s sentence while he appealed because the judge believed the conviction “raises a substantial question of law that is likely to result in a reversal or an order for a new trial.”

Earlier: Steve Bannon’s Bid to Avoid Prison Rejected by Appeals Court

Nichols earlier prevented Bannon from explaining to jurors at his trial that he was relying on the advice of his counsel when he refused to respond to the Congressional inquiry. The judge said he was bound by a longstanding court decision called Licavoli. The appeals court ruled Bannon’s request failed to meet the high bar needed to deviate from Licavoli.

“The panel didn’t just say we are bound by Licavoli,” but spent two pages explaining why it agreed with that decision, Nichols said during the June hearing when he ordered Bannon to jail.

Bannon’s attorney had asked Nichols to keep the stay on the sentence in place until the case can be reviewed by the full Washington appellate court or by the Supreme Court. But the judge said the three-judge appellate panel had settled the issue.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Sabrina Willmer in Washington at swillmer2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net

Elizabeth Wasserman

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