Steve Bannon Ex-Trump aide prison ordered

Steve Bannon vows to take legal battle to Supreme Court after being held in contempt for refusing to testify. #Bannon #SupremeCourt #LegalBattle

Following Thursday's ruling, Bannon made it clear that he and his legal team are prepared to take their case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. In a defiant statement to the press outside the courthouse in Washington DC, Bannon asserted, "There's not a prison or jail that will ever silence me." He framed the legal challenges against him as an attempt to stifle the Maga movement, a nod to former President Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan.

Bannon has maintained that he was simply following legal advice by refusing to cooperate with the House committee investigating the events of January 6th, when the US Capitol was breached by rioters seeking to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden's election victory. His attorney, David Schoen, who has characterized the case against Bannon as politically motivated, has also expressed his intention to appeal to a higher court. Schoen argued that Bannon would have been in violation of Trump's invocation of executive privilege, which allows presidents to withhold certain communications, had he complied with the committee's requests.

However, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals rejected this argument in May, upholding Bannon's conviction and stating that his defense of following legal advice did not hold water. Justice Bradley Garcia, in the court's decision, emphasized that this defense was not valid in the face of established legal precedent. A potential appeal to a full appeals court could potentially delay the sentencing order issued on Thursday if the court decides to take up the case and issue its own ruling.

Bannon played a significant role in Trump's presidential campaign and later served as a chief strategist in the White House. He departed from the administration following the violent events of the far-right rally in Charlottesville in 2017 but has remained a staunch ally of the former president. Another former Trump aide, Peter Navarro, began serving a prison sentence in March after being convicted of contempt of Congress.

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