The Department of Justice just released its demands that former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon serves a six-month prison sentence and fork over $200,000 in fines. The demands came after the January 6 Committee convicted Bannon of contempt for defying a subpoena. Bannon’s attorneys only want probation for the media mogul and former Trump official. Bannon has been one of the most vocal voices against the legitimacy of the 2020 election, which could be why the Committee continues probing him and demanding his testimony.
Forbes reports:
The DOJ filed a sentencing memo in Bannon’s case on Monday recommending that U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols impose a six-month sentence on Bannon, ahead of the ex-Trump adviser’s official sentencing on October 21.
Bannon was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress in July—one for not turning documents over to the House Jan. 6 committee and one for not testifying—which each carried a minimum prison sentence of 30 days and a maximum of one year.
The DOJ accused Bannon of “pursu[ing] a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt” in its memo, noting that the six-month recommendation is at the highest end of the Sentencing Guidelines for Bannon’s specific offense.
Bannon should get the maximum prison sentence under the sentencing guidelines because “a person could have shown no greater contempt” than Bannon did in defying the committee’s subpoena, the DOJ argued, also noting the “seriousness” of Bannon refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the “violent attack” on the Capitol and the “unprecedented effort” to overturn the 2020 election.
