Trump-ally Steve Bannon faces sentencing for contempt of Congress

In addition to Steve Bannon, U.S. prosecutors have charged former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro with contempt of Congress

Steve Bannon, a prominent figure on the American right who served as a senior strategist for former President Donald Trump, is set to be sentenced on Friday after being convicted in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from lawmakers investigating last year’s U.S. Capitol attack.

The sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET. Prosecutors on Monday asked the judge to sentence Bannon to six months in prison, while Bannon’s attorneys had sought probation. Each of the two counts is punishable by 30 days to one year in prison and a fine ranging between US$100 to US$100,000.

Prosecutors also had recommended that Bannon be ordered to pay the maximum possible fine of US$200,000 after they said he refused to cooperate with a routine pre-sentencing financial investigation.

A jury of eight men and four women convicted Bannon after just three hours of deliberations for refusing to testify or provide documents subpoenaed by the House of Representatives select committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and efforts by Trump’s allies to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Bannon, 68, was a key adviser to the Republican Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, then served as his chief White House strategist during 2017 before a falling out between them that was later patched up. Bannon helped articulate the “America First” right-wing populism and stout opposition to immigration that helped define Trump’s presidency. Bannon has played an instrumental role in right-wing media and has promoted right-wing causes and candidates in the United States and abroad.

A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and attacked police with batons, sledgehammers, flag poles, Taser devices, chemical irritants, metal pipes, rocks, metal guard rails and other weapons in a failed effort to block congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

According to the committee, Bannon spoke with Trump at least twice on the day before the attack, attended a planning meeting at a Washington hotel and said on his right-wing podcast that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”

In his trial, prosecutors called only two witnesses while Bannon’s defence team called none. Bannon opted not to testify. Bannon’s lawyers have said they will appeal his conviction.