From 100PercentFedUp - READ ORIGINAL
Some media, including videos, may only be available to view at the original.
A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has upheld a criminal conviction for former Trump aide and “War Room” host Steve Bannon.
Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 House select committee.
“Steve BANNON’s conviction for defying the Jan. 6 committee has been upheld by a unanimous three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. His four-month jail sentence has been on hold pending this ruling,” POLITICO reporter Kyle Cheney wrote.
“An appeals court rejected Steve Bannon’s appeal of his criminal contempt conviction for defying a subpoena the Jan. 6 committee, saying his arguments lacked merit,” he continued.
NEWS: An appeals court rejected Steve Bannon’s appeal of his criminal contempt conviction for defying a subpoena the Jan. 6 committee, saying his arguments lacked merit. https://t.co/gPC6Ke5lWu pic.twitter.com/te0DKDowev
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 10, 2024
“The 20-page ruling found that Bannon could not reasonably argue that the subpoena for his testimony to the Jan. 6 committee was for an improper purpose. The panel included an Obama appointee, a Biden appointee and a Trump appointee,” Cheney continued.
READ the 20-page opinion upholding Steve Bannon’s conviction: https://t.co/DotT4DIvlV pic.twitter.com/eGV1BsD4Qj
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) May 10, 2024
POLITICO reports:
Bannon was sentenced to four months in jail in 2022 by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols after a jury convicted him of two counts of contempt of Congress. But Nichols, a Trump appointee, agreed to postpone the jail term while Bannon appealed the decision, agreeing that the complex mix of laws that govern executive privilege and testimonial immunity for White House aides could be overturned by higher courts.
But a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Bannon’s argument, saying the former aide and prominent podcaster had no legal rationale for his blanket refusal to appeal before the Jan. 6 committee — and that long-standing case law.
“Because we have no basis to depart from that binding precedent, and because none of Bannon’s other challenges to his convictions have merit, we affirm [the conviction],” the panel ruled in a 20-page opinion.
The judges on the panel included Barack Obama appointee Cornelia Pillard, Trump appointee Justin Walker and Joe Biden appointee Bradley Garcia. Bannon can appeal the decision either to the full 11-member bench of the appeals court or to the Supreme Court.
BREAKING: DC appellate panel upholds contempt of Congress conviction of Steve Bannon.
One Obama, one Biden, and the Trump judge who screwed up the 1512c2 decision in Fischer deciding: pic.twitter.com/jgqylyydg5
— Julie Kelly
(@julie_kelly2) May 10, 2024
BREAKING – YOUR REACTION: In a ruling moments ago, a federal appeals court just upheld the conviction of Steve Bannon, previously a key advisor to Donald Trump.
NOTE: Bannon was found guilty of contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the Democrats-led… pic.twitter.com/tSIyWSIdn2
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) May 10, 2024
“An order issued by the D.C. Circuit said the judges’ mandate will not officially take effect until seven days after further appeal attempts are resolved. That means Bannon is unlikely to have to report to prison immediately,” NBC News noted.
“Today’s ruling by the DC Circuit on Steve Bannon’s claim of executive privilege is both shameful and predictable, as the DC courts are filled with partisans and cowards. We’ve had constitutional executive privilege for 250 years, going back to George Washington,” said former Gorsuch clerk Mike Davis.
“So Presidents can get candid advice from their presidential advisors (both inside and outside of government) without fear they will get hauled before Congress—and especially not get thrown in prison,” he continued.
“Constitutional executive privilege is bedrock to the functioning of the presidency. Courts must not allow partisan prosecutors to ignore it or disregard it simply because someone didn’t check the right box or fill out the right form. The destruction of constitutional executive privilege—by Biden, his Justice Department, House Democrats, and these DC judges—to get Trump is short-sighted and highly destructive to the presidency,” he added.
Today’s ruling by the DC Circuit on Steve Bannon’s claim of executive privilege is both shameful and predictable, as the DC courts are filled with partisans and cowards.
We’ve had constitutional executive privilege for 250 years, going back to George Washington.
So Presidents…
—
Per NBC News:
Bannon, who was an aide to former President Donald Trump, was convicted in July of 2022 when a jury found him guilty of two contempt of Congress charges for failing to comply with a subpoena for documents and testimony issued by the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
Arguing before the appeals court last fall in an effort to overturn the four-month prison sentence, Bannon’s attorney asserted that his client couldn’t comply with those subpoenas because Trump had invoked executive privilege. In addition to jail time, Bannon was fined $6,500.
Read the 20-page opinion HERE.
