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Steve Bannon sentenced to 4 months for contempt, pending appeal

The former Trump adviser was convicted in July of ignoring a Jan. 6 subpoena.

ByKatherine Faulders
Last Updated: October 21, 2022, 9:45 AM EDT

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was sentenced Friday following his conviction on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, after he defied a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 panel for records and testimony in September of last year. He refused to comply and was found guilty of contempt in July.

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Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.
Oct 21, 2022, 9:45 AM EDT

Judge 'tends to agree' with DOJ on guidelines

The hearing got underway with Judge Carl Nichols saying he tended to agree with the government on the sentencing guidelines.

The judge said that Bannon "has expressed no remorse for his actions" and hasn’t demonstrated that he has any intention of complying with the subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.

Bannon attorney David Schoen argued that there should not be a 30-day mandatory minimum of jail time for the offense.

Nichols, however, rejected that argument, saying the statute is clear on the point that there is a mandatory minimum of 30 days and a mandatory maximum of 12 months.

Oct 21, 2022, 9:10 AM EDT

Bannon arrives at courthouse

Bannon arrived at the courthouse before 9 a.m. He thanked the TV news cameras for being there and called the Biden administration illegitimate.

Steve Bannon gestures outside U.S. District Court on the day of his sentencing on contempt of Congress charges after refusing a subpoena from the Jan. 6th committee, in Washington, D.C., Oct. 21, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

He also thanked a woman who was chanting "traitor."

Oct 21, 2022, 8:43 AM EDT

'This is just Round 1'

Bannon, whose sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. EST, blasted members of the Jan. 6 committee on his way out of the courtroom after being found guilty in July.

"We may have lost a battle here today, but we're not going to lose this war," he said. "[The jury] came to their conclusion about what was put on in the in that courtroom. But listen, in the closing argument, the prosecutor missed one very important phrase, right? 'I stand with Trump and the Constitution, and I will never back off that, ever.'"

PHOTO: Former U.S. President Donald Trump's White House chief strategist Steve Bannon speaks to the media as he departs after he was found guilty during his trial on contempt of Congress charges, at U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., July 22, 2022.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's White House chief strategist Steve Bannon speaks to the media as he departs after he was found guilty during his trial on contempt of Congress charges for his refusal to cooperate with the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, at U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., July 22, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Bannon's attorney, David Schoen, said that Bannon's defense team would appeal the case, saying, "This is just Round 1."

Oct 21, 2022, 8:17 AM EDT

Bannon 'willing to pay any fine'

Bannon is scheduled to be sentenced this morning in Washington, D.C. He was interviewed as part of the court's presentencing investigation, but prosecutors said he refused to disclose any information about his finances.

They did, however, say that Bannon insisted "that he is willing and able to pay any fine imposed, including the maximum fine on each count of conviction," according to Monday's court filing.

"For his sustained, bad-faith contempt of Congress, the Defendant should be sentenced to six months' imprisonment -- the top end of the Sentencing Guidelines' range -- and fined $200,000 -- based on his insistence on paying the maximum fine rather than cooperate with the Probation Office's routine pre-sentencing financial investigation," prosecutors said in Monday's filing.