Biden DOJ Urges Supreme Court Not To Prevent Former Trump Advisor From Reporting To Jail

The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) urged the Supreme Court Wednesday not to grant Steve Bannon’s request to halt his prison sentence.

Bannon is scheduled to report to prison on July 1 to serve a four-month sentence following his contempt of Congress conviction, which an appeals court upheld in May. He asked the Supreme Court last week to put the sentence on hold while he further appeals his conviction for ignoring a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote Wednesday that Bannon “cannot make the demanding showing necessary to override the normal requirement that a convicted defendant begin serving his sentence.”

“[Bannon], who worked for former President Donald J. Trump for seven months in 2017, had left the White House years before the dates of the requested information,” she wrote. “Nevertheless, he asserted that some of the requested information may be protected from disclosure by the executive privilege for presidential communications. Former President Trump, however, never invoked any privilege before the committee, and President Biden affirmatively waived any applicable privilege.”

“Applicant nevertheless responded to the subpoena with total noncompliance: he did not produce any documents and refused to appear for his scheduled deposition,” Prelogar continued.

Bannon’s attorneys argued there is “no reason” to imprison him “for the four-month period immediately preceding the November presidential election” on a case that presents “substantial legal issues.” They noted the last time a jury convicted anyone on contempt of Congress charges was “fifty years ago.”

Prelogar responded that he is “wrong to suggest … that the release standard should depend on the short duration of his sentence or that he would serve his sentence in the months preceding a presidential election.”

“The latter is not a relevant factor at all under the Bail Reform Act, and the former is not relevant when, as here, the defendant does not raise a sentencing claim,” she wrote.