Bannon sentenced to 4 months in prison for contempt of US Congress

The US court sentenced Steve Bannon, a former Donald Trump strategist and organizer of the global far-right, to 4 months in prison and a fine of US$ 6,500 for contempt of Congress.

The sentence refers to the charges on which Bannon, 68, an influential figure also in the close circle of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), was convicted in July of refusing to hand over documents and testify to the House committee investigating the Capitol invasion. .

On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters, bolstered by the Republican, stormed the main building of Congress to try to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory. Five people died.

A committee was formed in the House by seven Democrats and two Republicans to investigate the episode. According to the group’s investigations, Bannon spoke with Trump at least twice the day before the attack and attended a planning meeting at a hotel in Washington. The panel even aired a video in which Bannon says, on his podcast on January 5, 2021, that “hell is going to happen tomorrow”.

He was subpoenaed by the committee to deliver documents and communications with Trump and allies, but refused on the grounds that he would also be entitled to so-called “executive privilege”, which protects the communications of the president and his aides. The Congressional committee rejected the claim, but Bannon still did not respond to the subpoenas.

Bannon arrived at the courthouse on Friday morning to protests from protesters, who chanted slogans like “traitor” and fanned the image of a giant rat with Donald Trump’s forelock and a cellphone in hand.

The prosecution had asked that the Trump ally be sentenced to six months in prison, while his lawyers sought parole. During the hearing, prosecutor JP Cooney said that Bannon disrespected Congress. “He’s not above the law, which is why this case matters.”

According to the details presented by Judge Carl Nichols, responsible for the sentence, Bannon’s defense has 14 days to appeal the decision – and lawyers have already indicated that they will take the case to an appeals court. In an unlikely scenario in which he did not file an appeal, he would have until the 15th to surrender voluntarily.

This is the first successful contempt of Congress trial since 1974, when a judge found guilty G. Gordon Liddy, involved in the Watergate scandal, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Bannon’s conviction of contempt gains new strength now, after the committee investigating January 6 passed a motion last week to subpoena Trump to provide clarification on the Capitol invasion. There is no expectation that the former president will appear without questioning the subpoena, but the force of a contempt conviction adds another weight to the lawsuit.

Creator of the “War Room” podcast and former head of the far-right portal Breitbart News, Bannon is seen as one of those responsible for Donald Trump’s victory for the presidency in 2016. Also close to federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), he participated in events with personalities of the Brazilian right, such as the writer Olavo de Carvalho, who died earlier this year.

This is not, however, the most serious lawsuit that Bannon faces. In early September, he was accused by the New York Court of fraud, money laundering and conspiracy in an alleged fundraising scheme to build the wall that separates the country from Mexico, the campaign banner of former President Donald Trump. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

He was arrested in August 2020 on the same charges, but was later released., after posting a bond of US$ 5 million (R$ 26 million). On January 20, 2021, hours before handing over the post of president to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump granted an overnight presidential pardon to Bannon and 142 other allies. The pardon cleared him of fraud charges under Federal Court, but another lawsuit was filed in New York.