SCOTUS denies request by Steve Bannon to stave off impending prison sentence

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday denied an emergency request from Steve Bannon to stay a lower court's order that he report to prison Monday to begin serving his sentence for defying a congressional subpoena.

Bannon, a right-wing media executive and podcaster who served as CEO of former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, filed an emergency application with Chief Justice John Roberts earlier this month asking to stay his prison sentence while he appeals his conviction for defying a subpoena from the January 6th Committee. On Friday, Roberts referred the application to the full court, which denied it the same day without commentary.

Bannon was convicted in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress and sentence to four months in prison, but has remained free for nearly two years while he appealed a longstanding precedent set in the 1960s D.C. Circuit case Licavoli v. United States barring him from claiming at trial that he’d relied on advice from his attorney.

Bannon appealed again to the Circuit, asking for a new stay while he pursues further appeals. Last week, the same panel of Circuit judges denied Bannon’s request in a 2-1 order, writing that he’d provided “no basis to conclude that a higher court is likely to upend” the precedent set in Licavoli. On Monday, the panel did grant Bannon an extension until July 15 to file any motion seeking a en banc review, or rehearing by the full Circuit.

Bannon, who served as a senior adviser for a short time in the Trump White House but was a private citizen by the events of Jan. 6, 2021, was one of a number of individuals in Trump's close orbit subpoenaed by the committee. Among other topics, the subpoena sought testimony and documents from Bannon about any communications with Trump in the days before Jan. 6 and also his alleged presence at the Willard Hotel “war room” on Jan. 5 “during an effort to persuade Members of Congress to block the certification of the election the next day.” The committee’s letter also requested information about Bannon’s communications with the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, InfoWars host Alex Jones and multiple lawyers who were advising Trump, including Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman.

In October 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 229-202 to hold Bannon in contempt of Congress and recommend criminal charges to the Justice Department after he failed to turn over any documents or appear for a deposition. Bannon has claimed throughout the process he was shielded from testifying by executive privilege — although one of Trump's own attorneys, Justin Clark, told investigators there was never an invocation of executive privilege for Bannon. 

Bannon was ultimately one of four Trump associates recommended for contempt charges by the House. One, former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, was convicted of the same two contempt counts as Bannon and began serving his four-month prison sentence in March. The DOJ declined two charge two others: former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former social media director Dan Scavino.

A former investment banker and film producer, Bannon began carving out a niche for himself as a right-wing firebrand in 2007 when he co-founded the far-right website Breitbart News. Since 2019 he’s hosted his own podcast, titled “War Room.” Since being charged, Bannon has remained defiant throughout his case — promising "judgment day" for Democrats at his sentencing — and has mustered high-profile allies on the right to his cause. On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) confirmed he and two other House GOP leaders had voted in a closed-door session of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to adopt the position that the January 6th Commission was invalidly formed — an argument federal courts have previously rejected from Bannon and others subpoenaed by the committee.

In a post on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, Johnson said the 3-2 vote supported filing an amicus brief with the D.C. Circuit that would "withdraw certain arguments made by the House earlier in the litigation about the organization" of the committee. The two Democrat members of the legal advisory group, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), voted against the move.

Also on Wednesday, GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court supporting Bannon's request for bail pending appeal. Loudermilk serves as the chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight and has led the House GOP's own investigation in response to the January 6th Committee. The brief was filed on Loudermilk's behalf by the America First Legal Foundation, a conservative legal group founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller.

In addition to his ongoing contempt fight, Bannon was also set to begin trial in New York on September 23 on charges alleging he defrauded donors to a “We Build the Wall” fundraiser that raised more than $25 million – purportedly to help build a southern border wall that was one of Trump’s signature campaign promises. Prosecutors say that money instead went to Bannon and other associates behind the scheme. Two men, Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court in connection with the scheme and were sentenced in April 2023 to 51 and 36 months in prison, respectively. A third man, Timohty Shea, was convicted at trial of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and obstruction of justice and was sentenced in July 2023 to 63 months in prison.