The Justice Department is recommending a six-month prison sentence and a $200,000 fine for former Trump aide Steve Bannon due to his failure to comply with a subpoena to appear before the House Select Committee investigating January 6.
In a filing Monday, the Justice Department said “the rioters that overran the Capitol on January 6 did not just attack a building—they assaulted the rule of law upon which this country was built and through which it endures.”
“By floating the Select Committee’s subpoena and its authority, the Defendant exacerbated that assault,” the Justice Department wrote. “To this day, he continues to unlawfully withhold documents and testimony that stand to help the Committee’s authorized investigation to get to the bottom of what led to January 6 and ascertain what steps must be taken to ensure that it never happens again.”
STEVE BANNON FOUND GUILTY OF CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR IGNORING JAN. 6 HEARING SUBPOENA
Former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon refused to cooperate with the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
(Reuters/Michael A. McCoy/File Photo)
The DOJ added: “That cannot be tolerated.”
The DOJ said that respect for the rule of law is “essential to the functioning of the United States government and to preserving the freedom and good order this country has enjoyed for more than two centuries.”
“The Defendant’s bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt deserves severe punishment,” the Justice Department said, recommending that the court impose a six-month prison sentence “reflecting the most severe Guidelines-compliant punishment available” and fine Bannon $200,000.
Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., makes remarks during the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Sentencing is scheduled for Friday, October 21.
FORMER TRUMP ADVISER PETER NAVARRO PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS CHARGES
The Department of Justice charged Bannon with two counts of contempt of Congress after he ignored a subpoena from the committee. Bannon pleaded not guilty.
Bannon, in July, was found guilty of contempt of Congress.
He claimed executive privilege precluded him from appearing before the committee to talk about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, though prosecutors noted that he left the White House in 2017.
Capitol Police during the January 6 riot.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro was also charged by the Justice Department with contempt of Congress earlier this year.
TRUMP WRITES BLISTERING JAN. 6 COMMITTEE RESPONSE, DOESN’T SAY IF HE’LL TESTIFY
Navarro pleaded not guilty to two counts of criminal contempt of Congress charges after he refused to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Jan. 6 committee, also claiming executive privilege.
The committee voted to subpoena former President Trump last week.
Fox News’ Jake Gibson and David Spunt contributed to this report.
