A federal judge on Thursday ordered former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to report to prison on July 1 to begin a four-month prison sentence for “defying” subpoenas to appear before a January 6 congressional committee. A higher court had earlier rejected his appeal.

Trump’s former adviser was found guilty of two counts of “contempt” of Congress in July 2022 for failing to respond to the committee’s subpoenas, but his sentence was suspended pending a hearing on his appeal.

U.S. District Judge Karl said Thursday that he does not believe the “original basis” for Bannon’s stay of execution exists anymore after an appeals court upheld his conviction. Bannon may also appeal the order summoning him to appear in prison.

Bannon was sentenced more than a year and a half ago, in October 2022, to four months in prison, the same sentence served by former Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who also refused to comply with a January 6 Commission subpoena.

“The defendant chose loyalty to Donald Trump over compliance with the law,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Gaston, who now serves on the special counsel’s team, told jurors during closing arguments in 2022.

Bannon’s sentence was suspended pending an appeal, and his lawyers presented their case to a three-judge federal appeals court in November. An appeals court upheld Bannon’s conviction in May, and federal prosecutors soon filed a motion asking the judge to order Bannon to report to prison.
Federal prosecutors said there was “no legal basis” to continue to suspend the sentence after a federal appeals court rejected the appeal.

Bannon’s lawyers argued that the sentence should be stayed until they appeal to the appeals court and the Supreme Court. Any delay, of course, would benefit Bannon if Trump is elected president in November and decides — just as he did on the last day of his presidency on Jan. 20, 2021 — to pardon Bannon on federal criminal charges.

Bannon is set to go on trial on separate state charges in New York later this year for defrauding donors who gave money to build a wall on the US southern border, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Bannon had been charged in the same alleged plot by federal prosecutors before Trump pardoned him just two weeks after the Capitol attack.

Bannon smiled as he went through security to enter the courthouse Thursday morning. A person near him said “Trump ’24!” and Bannon smiled and shook his hand.