Steve Bannon sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of Congress

Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Steve Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison and a $6500 fine Friday for contempt of Congress.

Bannon, a right-wing podcaster and former advisor to former president Donald Trump, had defied a lawful subpoena from the Jan. 6 congressional committee investigating the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols said Bannon "has expressed no remorse" for refusing to comply with the subpoena.

Bannon was convicted on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress in July for refusing to honor a subpoena to testify before the House select committee investigating the riots. The Justice Department had sought six months in prison and a $200,000 fine.

Bannon still avoided immediate imprisonment because the judge is allowing him to stay free while he appeals his case.

Lead Prosecutor P.J. Cooney said Bannon had thumbed his nose at American democracy.

"He showed his contempt for the criminal justice system, his contempt for the law and his contempt for Congress," Cooney said.

Bannon's lawyer David Schoen claimed Bannon didn't believe he violated the law by ignoring the congressional subpoena.

Bannon faces more criminal charges in New York state, charged with a fraud scheme prosecutors say bilked Bannon's supporters out of millions of dollars.

Those charges, based on allegedly fraudulent fundraising claiming to be for building a border wall, are similar to federal charges Bannon faced while Trump was president.

He was never tried in that case because Trump pardoned him before the trial.