Trump ex-adviser Bannon sentenced to four months for contempt of Congress - Reuters

WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Steve Bannon, a one-time advisor to erstwhile President Donald Trump, was sentenced by a justice connected Friday to 4 months successful situation for refusing to cooperate with lawmakers investigating past year's U.S. Capitol attack.

Bannon was found guilty successful July connected 2 counts of contempt of Congress for failing to supply documents oregon grounds to the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. Prosecutors had sought a six-month sentence, portion Bannon's attorneys had asked for probation.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols besides ordered Bannon, a cardinal advisor to the Republican Trump's 2016 statesmanlike campaign, to wage a good of $6,500. The justice allowed Bannon to defer serving his condemnation portion helium appeals his conviction.

Prosecutor J.P. Cooney said astatine Friday's proceeding that Bannon chose to "thumb his chemoreceptor astatine Congress." He "is not supra the law, and that's what makes this lawsuit important," Cooney said.

Bannon, 68, served arsenic Trump's main White House strategist during 2017 earlier a falling retired betwixt them that was aboriginal patched up.

A firebrand, Brannon helped articulate the "America First" right-wing populism and stout absorption to migration that helped specify Trump's presidency. Bannon has played an instrumental relation successful right-wing media and has promoted right-wing causes and candidates successful the United States and abroad.

A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and attacked constabulary with batons, sledgehammers, emblem poles, Taser devices, chemic irritants, metallic pipes, rocks, metallic defender rails and different weapons successful a failed effort to artifact legislature certification of his 2020 predetermination nonaccomplishment to Democrat Joe Biden.

Bannon declined to code the justice anterior to sentencing connected Friday.

Outside the courthouse, helium delivered fiery remarks arsenic protesters astatine times tried to drown his dependable retired with shouts of "Traitor!"

"Today was my judgement time by the judge," Bannon told reporters. But...on November 8, they are going to person judgement connected the illegitimate Biden regime, and rather frankly, (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and the full committee."

Bannon has 2 weeks to record his appeal, which his lawyers said they mean to do. If helium fails to record it connected time, helium is required to crook himself successful by Nov. 15.

According to the Jan. 6 committee, Bannon spoke with Trump astatine slightest doubly connected the time earlier the attack, attended a readying gathering astatine a Washington edifice and said connected his right-wing podcast that "all hellhole is going to interruption escaped tomorrow."

In his trial, prosecutors called lone 2 witnesses portion Bannon's defence squad called none. Bannon opted not to testify. Bannon's lawyers person said they volition entreaty his conviction.

Bannon's defence was hamstrung by rulings by Nichols that barred him from asserting that helium relied connected enforcement privilege claims and arguing that helium relied connected proposal from his attorney.

The committee's leaders person called Bannon's condemnation a triumph for the regularisation of law. Bannon had sought to represent the transgression charges arsenic politically motivated, lashing retired astatine Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, portion saying, "They took connected the wrong guy his time."

The Democratic-led committee has sought grounds from dozens of radical successful Trump's orbit. In summation to Bannon, prosecutors person charged erstwhile Trump White House advisor Peter Navarro with contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the aforesaid committee, with a Nov. 17 proceedings day set. Navarro has pleaded not guilty.

During Friday's hearing, Bannon's lawyer David Schoen said Bannon relied connected the proposal of his lawyers not to comply with a legislature subpoena aft Trump invoked enforcement privilege, a ineligible doctrine that shields immoderate White House communications from disclosure.

"A much egregious contempt of Congress would person been to accidental 'Screw you Congress, instrumentality your subpoena and shove it!'" Schoen said.

Nichols, successful rendering his decision, said helium agreed that Bannon should get immoderate recognition for relying connected ineligible advice, adjacent if it was "misguided."

At the aforesaid time, Nichols said that Bannon "had not produced a azygous document" oregon immoderate grounds to Congress.

"The January 6 Committee has each crushed to analyse what happened that day," Nichols said, adding that "flaunting legislature subpoenas betrays a deficiency of respect" for Congress.

Friday's sentencing does not extremity Bannon's ineligible troubles. He was indicted successful New York authorities successful September connected charges of wealth laundering and conspiracy, with prosecutors accusing him of deceiving donors giving wealth to assistance physique Trump's promised partition on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Bannon, who pleaded not guilty, could look up to 15 years successful situation if convicted connected those charges.

Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.