Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says that Congress must act after a judge ordered Steve Bannon to go to prison on July 1 for not complying with a congressional subpoena issued by the “January 6th Committee” in September 2021.
In November of 2021, Bannon was charged for not appearing before Congress after he claimed executive privilege. During former President Donald Trump’s administration, Bannon served as Chief White House Strategist and Counselor for approximately seven months.
Trump eventually waived executive privilege for Bannon, who said he would testify at a public hearing. The committee told Bannon that it would not be a public hearing and that the questions they had for him were akin to a deposition. They demanded that he turn over the subpoenaed records per their request.
Bannon was convicted by a jury in July 2022 for his refusal to appear before Congress and for refusing to hand over subpoenaed documents.
In October 2022, the Department of Justice released after Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison, saying in part,
“Stephen K. Bannon was sentenced today to four months of incarceration and ordered to pay a fine of $6,500 on two counts of contempt of Congress stemming from his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 breach of the United States Capitol.
Bannon, 68, was found guilty by a jury on July 22, 2022, of one contempt count related to his refusal to appear for a deposition and another count related to his refusal to produce documents in response to a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. The verdict followed a trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.”
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Bannon was allowed to remain free as he appealed the case. However, a U.S. District Court of Appeals panel upheld the conviction last month.
In response to the judge’s order for Bannon to go to prison next month, Trump criticized the committee that had issued the subpoena and said they had committed crimes themselves. His statement on Truth Social said,
“It is a Total and Complete American Tragedy that the Crooked Joe Biden Department of Injustice is so desperate to jail Steve Bannon, and every other Republican, for that matter, for not SUBMITTING to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, made up of all Democrats, and two CRAZED FORMER REPUBLICAN LUNATICS, Cryin’ Adam Kinzinger, and Liz “Out of Her Mind” Cheney. It has been irrefutably proven that it was the Unselects who committed actual crimes when they deleted and destroyed all material evidence, in a pathetic attempt to protect Crazy Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats from the TRUTH — THAT I DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG. The unAmerican Weaponization of our Law Enforcement has reached levels of Illegality never thought possible before. INDICT THE UNSELECT J6 COMMITTEE FOR ILLEGALLY DELETING AND DESTROYING ALL OF THEIR “FINDINGS!” MAGA2024”
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After the judge issued the prison order, Bannon told reporters he would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.
Bannon went on to say that if the election were to be held today, Trump would win in a landslide. Bannon said that his and Trump’s legal battles were part of an effort by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department to shut down the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement.
During his statement to the press, Bannon told reporters,
“There’s not a prison built, or a jail built, that will ever shut me up. All victory to MAGA.”
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Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said this was part of the death of America’s legal system. Gaetz also asked Congress to vote and make the actions of the January 6th committee invalid.
He posted this on X after the announcement of Bannon’s prison order:
“We are watching the death of America’s legal system as we know it.
The Left has not been able to deter Donald Trump with the prosecution in New York, and they are now trying to demoralize our movement by putting Steve Bannon behind bars.
Congress must immediately advance its election interference defense and declare the actions of the J6 committee INVALID!”
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), and other congressmen expressed similar requests for the Bannon subpoena to be rescinded.
However, others online said they were happy to see Bannon serve time behind bars, including former White House Communications Director for Trump, Steve Scaramucci. He posted on X,
“I know we are not supposed to derive our happiness from others, but Steve Bannon going to jail has done the trick.”
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Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Bannon was finally facing justice. He also posted on X, stating,
“Steve Bannon will be headed to prison next month for defying a congressional subpoena.
Judge Nichols will no longer allow Bannon to avoid custody while on appeal.
If only more of the judges in Trump cases made the same decision – he could not escape justice by delaying it.”
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If Bannon begins his prison sentence on July 1st, it would end on November 1st, four days before the general election.
