Bannon, Trump’s ex-adviser, sentenced to prison

The former chief strategist of ex-US President Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, is set to begin a four-month prison sentence on July 1 as per a judge’s order. A federal judge approved a request from prosecutors on Thursday. Bannon had been sentenced to prison in October 2022 for contempt of Congress but had remained free pending an appeal. His appeal was rejected by a federal court four weeks ago.

In response to the order for him to start serving his prison sentence, Bannon adopted a combative stance. The 70-year-old told reporters in Washington, “There is nothing that can silence me, and nothing that will silence me.” He also predicted a “landslide victory” for Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election in November.

Bannon was convicted for failing to comply with a summons from the congressional committee investigating the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. The storming of the Capitol by fervent Trump supporters aimed to prevent the formal certification of Joe Biden’s election victory against Trump.

Another key advisor to Trump, Peter Navarro, was also convicted of contempt of Congress and began serving a four-month prison sentence in Florida in March. Navarro is the highest-ranking former government official to be convicted in connection with Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 US presidential election outcome.

Trump himself faces charges in two criminal cases related to attempts to influence the election, one in a federal court in Washington and the other by the Georgia judiciary. It remains uncertain when trials might proceed in these two cases. Trump intends to run against Biden once again in the election scheduled for November 5th.

Bannon played a pivotal role in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and later became the chief strategist in the White House following Trump’s election victory. He was fired by Trump in August 2017, but the two former allies have since reconciled to some extent. Bannon also maintains ties with far-right groups in Europe.