Justice Department asks federal judge to start former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s prison sentence

By Casey Gannon and Tierney Sneed, CNN

(CNN) — Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon should begin serving a four-month prison sentence now that a federal appeals court has upheld his contempt-of-Congress conviction, the Justice Department told a federal judge Tuesday.

US District Judge Carl Nichols, who presided over Bannon’s trial, had paused Bannon’s sentence while an appeal of his conviction played out. He has given Bannon until Monday to respond to the DOJ’s request, extending an earlier deadline following a motion to delay from the defense team.

Bannon was found guilty in July 2022 by a federal jury of two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena by the House January 6 select committee in its investigation into the 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

The Justice Department said in its court filing that a person who is found guilty must report for their term of imprisonment unless the defendant can establish “the appeal is not for the purpose of delay and raises a substantial question of law or fact likely to result in reversal.”

“The D.C. Circuit rejected defendant’s appeal on all grounds, including the primary argument on appeal: the requisite mental state required for a contempt of Congress violation,” the Justice Department wrote.

The unanimous decision by the appeals court was a win for Congress, potentially paving the way for how others will be held accountable for defying a congressional subpoena.

The timing of when Bannon will be expected to report to prison is still unclear.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.

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