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Steve Bannon faces Sentencing for Contempt

Steve Bannon faces Sentencing for Contempt

Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP)

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday after being convicted of defying a subpoena from the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Steve Bannon, center, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, convicted of contempt of Congress, arrives at federal court for a sentencing hearing, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington. Attorney David Schoen is left. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

He arrived at the federal courthouse in Washington on Friday morning for the sentencing hearing. Bannon was convicted in July of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition and the other for refusing to provide documents.

Media gathers around an inflatable rat styled after former President Donald Trump while waiting for the arrival of Steve Bannon, longtime ally of the former president, convicted of contempt of Congress, for a sentencing hearing in-person, at the Federal Courthouse, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

Prosecutors have asked the judge in his case to impose a hefty sentence of six months in jail, while Bannon’s lawyers have argued their client deserves a sentence of probation. The statutes for contempt of Congress each carry a minimum sentence of 30 days behind bars, but Bannon’s lawyers argue the judge could just sentence him to probation and not send him to jail.

Steve Bannon, center, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, convicted of contempt of Congress, arrives at federal court for a sentencing hearing, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

The House committee had sought Bannon’s testimony over his involvement in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Bannon has yet to testify or provide any documents to the committee, prosecutors wrote.

Steve Bannon, walking center, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, convicted of contempt of Congress, arrives at federal court for a sentencing hearing, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

Prosecutors argued Bannon, 68, deserved the longer sentence because he had pursued a “bad faith strategy” and his public statements disparaging the committee itself made it clear he wanted to undermine their effort to get to the bottom of the violent attack and keep anything like it from happening again.

Steve Bannon, longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, convicted of contempt of Congress, arrives at federal court for a sentencing hearing, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

The defense, meanwhile, said he wasn’t acting in bad faith, but trying to avoid running afoul of executive privilege objections Trump had raised when Bannon was first served with a committee subpoena last year. The onetime presidential adviser said he wanted to a Trump lawyer in the room, but the committee wouldn’t allow it.

Steve Bannon, center, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, convicted of contempt of Congress, arrives at federal court for a sentencing hearing, Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

Many other former White House aides have testified with only their own counsel. Bannon had been fired from the White House in 2017 and was a private citizen when he was consulting with the then-president before the riot.

File – Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, departs federal court, July 22, 2022, in Washington. Bannon is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court, after being convicted of defying a subpoena from the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Bannon also pointed out that he had offered to testify after Trump waived executive privilege. But that was after the contempt charges were filed, and prosecutors say he would only agree to give the deposition if the case was dropped.

The sun rises on the Federal Courthouse in Washington, ahead of a sentencing hearing for Steve Bannon, longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, convicted of contempt of Congress, on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

Prosecutors have pushed for the maximum fine, saying Bannon refused to answer routine questions about his income and insisted he could pay whatever the judge imposed.

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