Steve Bannon, who was an influential adviser to Donald Trump in the White House, was sentenced Friday to four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with the parliamentary investigation into the assault on the Capitol.
This 68-year-old man, a figure of right-wing populism in the United States, immediately announced his intention to appeal, which suspends the application of the sentence.
He was therefore able to emerge free from the court. In front of the cameras, he assured “respect the judge’s decision”, but immediately slipped into political territory.
“November 8 will be the day of judgment for the illegitimate regime of [Joe] Biden […] and we know how it will end, ”he said in reference to the midterm elections, in which the Democrats could lose their control of Congress.
Quoting several members of the commission of inquiry into January 6, 2021, responsible for shedding light on Donald Trump’s role in the coup against his supporters, Steve Bannon predicted that they “would be beaten”.
Obstruction of congressional investigative powers
Refusing to respond to the subpoenas of this commission, he was found guilty, in July, of obstructing the investigative powers of Congress.
The prosecutors then requested six months of detention, pinning his “contempt” and his “bad faith” throughout the procedure. His lawyers had asked for a sentence of parole or house arrest.
Judge Carl Nichols ultimately opted for four months in prison, along with a fine of US$6,500 (almost CA$9,000).
“Respecting Congress is an important component of our constitutional system,” he justified, stressing that Steve Bannon had, to date, still produced “no document, nor delivered any testimony” to the commission.
Onslaught of “hell” on January 6
A ferocious critic of the establishment, Steve Bannon, who was an investment banker or director of the radical right-wing news site Breitbart, is considered one of the architects of Donald Trump’s victory in 2016.
Having become one of the president’s powerful advisers, he was ousted from the White House in August 2017 after far-right violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
But he had remained close to the Republican billionaire and had exchanged with him again on January 5, 2021, on the eve of the attack on the headquarters of Congress. After their conversation, he predicted an onslaught of “all hell” the next day in Washington.
To find out the content of their discussions, the parliamentary commission of inquiry had summoned Steve Bannon to testify and produce documents.
He had refused, citing the right of presidents and members of the executive to keep certain conversations secret.
But Donald Trump did not invoke this right and Steve Bannon, who “was a private citizen on January 6”, cannot take advantage of it, underlined Judge Nichols.
During his trial in July, Steve Bannon produced no witnesses and did not speak. Jurors found him guilty after less than three hours of deliberation.
Steve Bannon is also being prosecuted for fraud by New York justice as part of an investigation into fundraising to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, one of Donald Trump’s main campaign promises. .
He had already been implicated in this case by federal justice, before being pardoned by Donald Trump in the last days of his presidency.
The former president himself is the subject of several investigations and the commission on January 6, 2021 has announced that it will subpoena him.
Its members, seven Democrats and two Republicans, must publish a report on their work by the end of the year, in which they could recommend indicting the former president. The decision will ultimately rest with the Secretary of Justice, Merrick Garland, a prudent man who does not exclude anything.