Steve Bannon ordered to report to prison by July 1

A federal judge ordered Steve Bannon, the one-time adviser to former President Trump, to begin his four-month prison sentence in July as he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction. 

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols agreed with prosecutors at a Wednesday hearing, ordering Bannon must self-surrender by July 1 since his bid to overturn his conviction was rejected by a three-judge appeals panel last month. 

“The government’s motion is granted,” said Nichols, a Trump appointee. Bannon had opposed the move, insisting he will appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary, and arguing he should remain free in the meantime.

Bannon was found guilty in 2022 of failing to appear for a deposition ordered by the now-disbanded House Jan. 6 committee and refusing to turn over documents it subpoenaed. 

After the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected Bannon’s appeal last month, the Justice Department moved to immediately incarcerate Bannon, saying there was no longer a “substantial question of law that is likely to result in a reversal or an order for a new trial.”

“We believe it is the exact opposite. It is unlikely,” said prosecutor John Crabb.

In court filings, Bannon’s lawyer contended there was “no basis” to send the podcast host and former Trump adviser to jail immediately, arguing that his appeal hasn’t yet reached a bench that has authority to overturn a key precedent used to uphold the conviction. 

“Alan Dershowitz and everyone said this case is going to have to be decided by the Supreme Court,” David Schoen, Bannon’s attorney, said at Wednesday’s hearing, causing the judge to shake his head.

Schoen represented Bannon alongside Evan Corcoran, another member of the legal team who previously represented Trump in his classified documents criminal case.

Bannon turned his chair toward the judge during the hearing, talking with Corcoran before the proceedings kicked off but otherwise remaining silent and observing the arguments.

He was one of two people charged and convicted for failing to comply with orders from the Jan. 6 committee. 

Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro is currently serving his four-month sentence on contempt charges. He had similarly mounted last-ditch efforts to avoid prison, including unsuccessfully seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court.

Bannon could take a similar strategy and attempt to appeal the judge’s order on Thursday requiring him to surrender by July 1.

“There is nothing that can shut me up and nothing that will shut me up,” he told reporters outside the courthouse.

“There’s not a prison built or a jail built that’ll ever shut me up.”

—Updated at 1:35 p.m. ET