DOJ seeks 6 months in jail, $200,000 fine for Steve Bannon for contempt of Congress

Federal prosecutors recommended Monday that erstwhile Trump White House adjutant Steve Bannon look six months successful jailhouse and a $200,000 good for defying a subpoena from the legislature probe of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Bannon "has pursued a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt" from "the moment" helium was served the subpoena, the Justice Department wrote successful a sentencing memorandum successful U.S. District Court successful Washington, D.C.

The recommended jailhouse word came successful astatine the apical extremity of the national sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors said Bannon deserved the longer condemnation "because a idiosyncratic could person shown nary greater contempt than the Defendant did successful his defiance of the Committee's subpoena." They besides recommended the maximum fine.

Bannon is acceptable to beryllium sentenced Friday, 1 twelvemonth to the time since the House voted to clasp him successful contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a House prime committee's subpoena for documents and testimony. Bannon was indicted successful November connected 2 transgression counts and convicted aft a national trial successful July.

"The factual grounds successful this lawsuit is replete with impervious that with respect to the Committee's subpoena, the Defendant consistently acted successful atrocious religion and with the intent of frustrating the Committee's work," the prosecutors wrote successful their sentencing memo.

The prime committee sought Bannon's grounds arsenic portion of its probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, erstwhile a convulsive mob of erstwhile President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Trump and galore of his allies, including Bannon, falsely claimed for months earlier the riot that the predetermination was rigged for President Joe Biden.

Bannon's lawyers justified his refusal to comply with the subpoena by citing Trump's claims of enforcement privilege, which tin let a president to forestall the merchandise of definite White House documents oregon communications. Prosecutors rejected that argument. In their latest tribunal filing, they described it arsenic simply "a screen for his contempt."

They besides criticized Bannon, who hosts a right-wing online speech show, for disparaging members of the committee successful the media. Prosecutors said his rhetorical attacks "confirm his atrocious faith."

Bannon is besides refusing to supply fiscal accusation to probation officers, alternatively telling them that helium would similar to wage the maximum fine, the prosecutors alleged.

"So beryllium it," they wrote.

Bannon's refusal to comply with the probe was "aimed astatine undermining the Committee's efforts to analyse an historical onslaught connected government," the prosecutors wrote.

"The rioters who overran the Capitol connected January 6 did not conscionable onslaught a building—they assaulted the regularisation of instrumentality upon which this state was built and done which it endures. By flouting the Select Committee's subpoena and its authority, the Defendant exacerbated that assault," their memo said.

"Respect for the regularisation of instrumentality is indispensable to the functioning of the United States authorities and to preserving the state and bully bid this state has enjoyed for much than 2 centuries," prosecutors wrote. "The Defendant's bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt deserves terrible punishment."