Prosecutors urge Supreme Court to reject Steve Bannon’s attempt to avoid prison

By John Fritze, CNN

(CNN) — The Justice Department urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject an effort by former Trump aide Steve Bannon to avoid prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction.

Bannon, the Biden administration said in a filing, had not met the standard to justify the “extraordinary” exception.  A federal judge ruled recently that Bannon must turn himself in by July 1 to begin serving a four-month sentence.

Bannon, a conservative podcast host and former strategist for Donald Trump, asked the Supreme Court last week to pause his prison sentence.

The longshot request comes months after another former Trump adviser, Peter Navarro, failed to receive a similar break from the conservative high court.

Bannon “responded to the subpoena with total noncompliance,” Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the court. “He did not produce any documents and refused to appear for his scheduled deposition.”

“He cannot make the demanding showing necessary to override the normal requirement that a convicted defendant begin serving his sentence,” Prelogar wrote.

Bannon was convicted by a federal jury two years ago in Washington, DC, for not complying with a subpoena for an interview and documents in the US House’s January 6, 2021, investigation. He has remained a staunch Trump ally and is a vocal supporter of his presidential reelection bid.

He argued that he was not thumbing his nose at the House committee but rather relying on advice from his attorneys to not respond to the subpoena until lawmakers worked out Trump’s claims of executive privilege.

Bannon is set to report to the low-security federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, instead of a minimum-security prison camp he had sought.

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