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| Bannon Sentenced to 4 Months in Prison for Contempt of Congress | Bannon Sentenced to 4 Months in Prison for Contempt of Congress |
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| WASHINGTON — Stephen K. Bannon, a longtime adviser to former President Donald J. Trump who aided in the effort to overturn the 2020 election, was sentenced on Friday to four months in prison for disobeying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. | WASHINGTON — Stephen K. Bannon, a longtime adviser to former President Donald J. Trump who aided in the effort to overturn the 2020 election, was sentenced on Friday to four months in prison for disobeying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. |
| Mr. Bannon, 68, was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress this summer after Judge Carl J. Nichols rejected an array of arguments offered by Mr. Bannon’s defense team, including that he was protected by executive privilege from being compelled to testify. | Mr. Bannon, 68, was found guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress this summer after Judge Carl J. Nichols rejected an array of arguments offered by Mr. Bannon’s defense team, including that he was protected by executive privilege from being compelled to testify. |
| “Others must be deterred from committing similar crimes,” said Judge Nichols, a Trump appointee, who also imposed a fine of $6,500 on Mr. Bannon. Mr. Bannon will remain free pending his appeal. | “Others must be deterred from committing similar crimes,” said Judge Nichols, a Trump appointee, who also imposed a fine of $6,500 on Mr. Bannon. Mr. Bannon will remain free pending his appeal. |
| The sentence, coming a year after Mr. Bannon was held in contempt by the House, is two months short of what federal prosecutors had requested this week. | |
| Shortly after, the committee formally issued its subpoena to Mr. Trump requesting that he sit for a deposition and turn over documents next month. | |
| The government had accused Mr. Bannon, the onetime editor of the right-wing news outlet Breitbart, of having “pursued a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt” from the moment he received the subpoena seeking information about his knowledge of Mr. Trump’s efforts to reverse his electoral defeat. | |
| In a contentious exchange with the defense team before announcing a sentence, Judge Nichols said Mr. Bannon had shown “no remorse for his actions” and had yet to “demonstrate he has any intention of complying with the subpoena.” | In a contentious exchange with the defense team before announcing a sentence, Judge Nichols said Mr. Bannon had shown “no remorse for his actions” and had yet to “demonstrate he has any intention of complying with the subpoena.” |
| Judge Nichols dismissed Mr. Bannon’s claims that his refusal to testify was protected by executive privilege. But he also cited Mr. Bannon’s belated effort to reach an agreement with the committee, his service in the Navy, his lack of a criminal history and the unsettled judicial status of executive privilege as factors against a longer sentence. | Judge Nichols dismissed Mr. Bannon’s claims that his refusal to testify was protected by executive privilege. But he also cited Mr. Bannon’s belated effort to reach an agreement with the committee, his service in the Navy, his lack of a criminal history and the unsettled judicial status of executive privilege as factors against a longer sentence. |
| The chaotic scene outside Federal District Court was emblematic of the push-and-shove rancor Mr. Bannon has evoked since becoming a fixture of Mr. Trump’s political circle seven years ago. After leaving court, he stood before the cameras to declare that the idea he saw himself as above the law was “an absolute and total lie” — as protesters repeatedly bellowed, “Traitor!” through bullhorns a few feet away. | The chaotic scene outside Federal District Court was emblematic of the push-and-shove rancor Mr. Bannon has evoked since becoming a fixture of Mr. Trump’s political circle seven years ago. After leaving court, he stood before the cameras to declare that the idea he saw himself as above the law was “an absolute and total lie” — as protesters repeatedly bellowed, “Traitor!” through bullhorns a few feet away. |
| As the throng pressed Mr. Bannon against his black S.U.V., he briefly lingered inside the half-open rear door, taking in the spectacle with a wry smile before taking off. | As the throng pressed Mr. Bannon against his black S.U.V., he briefly lingered inside the half-open rear door, taking in the spectacle with a wry smile before taking off. |
| Mr. Bannon, a rapid-talking provocateur who has used his daily internet radio show to skewer the government for prosecuting him, approached his sentencing with defiance. He told reporters that he viewed President Biden as “illegitimate” as he entered the court, flanked by his lawyers. | Mr. Bannon, a rapid-talking provocateur who has used his daily internet radio show to skewer the government for prosecuting him, approached his sentencing with defiance. He told reporters that he viewed President Biden as “illegitimate” as he entered the court, flanked by his lawyers. |
| He went on to claim that Democrats would face their “judgment day” in the coming midterm elections and urged all within earshot to oppose the Chinese Communist Party. | He went on to claim that Democrats would face their “judgment day” in the coming midterm elections and urged all within earshot to oppose the Chinese Communist Party. |
| The government argued for the maximum penalty of six months and a fine of $200,000. J.P. Cooney, the lead prosecutor, said Mr. Bannon had “thumbed his nose” at American democracy — and flouted the basic responsibilities incurred by witnesses who appeared at the courthouse every day. | The government argued for the maximum penalty of six months and a fine of $200,000. J.P. Cooney, the lead prosecutor, said Mr. Bannon had “thumbed his nose” at American democracy — and flouted the basic responsibilities incurred by witnesses who appeared at the courthouse every day. |
| “He showed his contempt for the criminal justice system, his contempt for the law and his contempt for Congress,” Mr. Cooney said, accusing Mr. Bannon of never “lifting a finger” to comply with his legal obligations to produce evidence — or simply show up when summoned to assert his right not to testify. | “He showed his contempt for the criminal justice system, his contempt for the law and his contempt for Congress,” Mr. Cooney said, accusing Mr. Bannon of never “lifting a finger” to comply with his legal obligations to produce evidence — or simply show up when summoned to assert his right not to testify. |
| Mr. Bannon’s lead lawyer, David I. Schoen, who represented Mr. Trump during his second impeachment trial, reiterated many of the same themes he raised then. He cast Mr. Bannon as a courageous defender of executive authority rather than someone who simply did not want to obey a lawful legislative summons. | Mr. Bannon’s lead lawyer, David I. Schoen, who represented Mr. Trump during his second impeachment trial, reiterated many of the same themes he raised then. He cast Mr. Bannon as a courageous defender of executive authority rather than someone who simply did not want to obey a lawful legislative summons. |
| “Never at any time did Mr. Bannon believe in any way, shape or form that he was acting in any way that was unlawful or against the law,” Mr. Schoen said in a rambling hourlong speech in which he invoked the writings of James Madison, then veered off to slam a former Trump lawyer as “a thug” who had ripped him off. | “Never at any time did Mr. Bannon believe in any way, shape or form that he was acting in any way that was unlawful or against the law,” Mr. Schoen said in a rambling hourlong speech in which he invoked the writings of James Madison, then veered off to slam a former Trump lawyer as “a thug” who had ripped him off. |
| Mr. Bannon and his lawyers quietly reached out to congressional staffers on the eve of the trial, with a belated offer of testimony if the government dropped the charges. It was rejected. | Mr. Bannon and his lawyers quietly reached out to congressional staffers on the eve of the trial, with a belated offer of testimony if the government dropped the charges. It was rejected. |
| Mr. Schoen, whom Mr. Bannon once mocked on his radio show, recommended that he not spend any time in jail and instead receive probation. He argued that the Justice Department had declined to file indictments against two other former aides to Mr. Trump who had also disregarded subpoenas from the committee: Mark Meadows, his final chief of staff, and Dan Scavino Jr., a deputy chief of staff who oversaw Mr. Trump’s social media operations. | Mr. Schoen, whom Mr. Bannon once mocked on his radio show, recommended that he not spend any time in jail and instead receive probation. He argued that the Justice Department had declined to file indictments against two other former aides to Mr. Trump who had also disregarded subpoenas from the committee: Mark Meadows, his final chief of staff, and Dan Scavino Jr., a deputy chief of staff who oversaw Mr. Trump’s social media operations. |
| Mr. Schoen also claimed that all of Mr. Bannon’s actions were guided by the advice of his lawyers. | Mr. Schoen also claimed that all of Mr. Bannon’s actions were guided by the advice of his lawyers. |
| Mr. Bannon is not the only former Trump aide to be charged with disobeying a subpoena from the committee: Peter Navarro, the former White House trade adviser, was indicted in June on contempt of Congress charges. | Mr. Bannon is not the only former Trump aide to be charged with disobeying a subpoena from the committee: Peter Navarro, the former White House trade adviser, was indicted in June on contempt of Congress charges. |
| He is scheduled to go on trial in Washington next month. | He is scheduled to go on trial in Washington next month. |
| Members of the House Jan. 6 committee, who viewed Mr. Bannon as a central figure in several schemes aimed at unlawfully keeping Mr. Trump in power, said the sentence would discourage others from flouting legislative subpoenas. | Members of the House Jan. 6 committee, who viewed Mr. Bannon as a central figure in several schemes aimed at unlawfully keeping Mr. Trump in power, said the sentence would discourage others from flouting legislative subpoenas. |
| This is not the first time Mr. Bannon, who clashed with Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and other aides during a brief and tumultuous tenure as a senior White House adviser, has faced a reckoning in a federal court. | This is not the first time Mr. Bannon, who clashed with Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and other aides during a brief and tumultuous tenure as a senior White House adviser, has faced a reckoning in a federal court. |
| In August 2020, Mr. Bannon and three associates were charged with defrauding donors of more than a million dollars as part of an online fund-raising scheme purportedly linked to Mr. Trump’s attempt to build a border wall with Mexico. | In August 2020, Mr. Bannon and three associates were charged with defrauding donors of more than a million dollars as part of an online fund-raising scheme purportedly linked to Mr. Trump’s attempt to build a border wall with Mexico. |
| After Mr. Trump lost the election, Mr. Bannon began lobbying for a pardon, even as he participated in meetings to discuss ways to overturn the election. Mr. Trump pardoned him just hours before leaving office. | After Mr. Trump lost the election, Mr. Bannon began lobbying for a pardon, even as he participated in meetings to discuss ways to overturn the election. Mr. Trump pardoned him just hours before leaving office. |
| Still, Mr. Bannon faces separate charges in New York over his role in the fund-raising project. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has charged him with fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, a case that largely mirrors the one erased by the pardon. | Still, Mr. Bannon faces separate charges in New York over his role in the fund-raising project. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has charged him with fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, a case that largely mirrors the one erased by the pardon. |