Legal Peril Grows for Trump in the Form of a Subpoena and a Bannon Sentence

The sentencing of Stephen Bannon by a federal judge to four months in prison for ignoring a subpoena from the January 6 committee and the panel’s issuing of a separate subpoena to President Trump signal an escalation in legal stakes for the former commander in chief. Bannon’s sentencing comes after federal prosecutors requested the maximum punishment allowable — half a year behind bars and a fine of $200,000. The political provocateur’s attorneys argued that he should not be incarcerated at all, asserting that his refusal to cooperate was done at the advice of counsel. Judge Carl Nichols, appointed by Bannon’s one-time boss, largely rejected that argument and levied a fine of $6,500 in addition to the prison sentence. The jurist hopes the punishment ensures that other people would be “deterred from committing similar crimes.” At trial, Bannon was convicted on two charges of criminal contempt. While Bannon’s sentence is two months shorter than prosecutors sought, it is on the stricter end of the judge’s discretionary range. In explaining his decision, Judge Nichols expounded that Bannon showed “no remorse for his actions” and has failed to“demonstrate he has any intention of complying with the subpoena.”While Bannon did not speak in court, he was loquacious outside of it. CNN reports that he declaimed to the assembled reporters and protesters: “Today was my judgment day by the judge. On November 8, there’s going to [be] judgment on the illegitimate Biden regime … and quite frankly, Nancy Pelosi and the entire [January 6] committee.”Bannon did notch one victory during the hearing, with Judge Nichols acceding to his request to stay the onset of his prison sentence pending appeal. Bannon’s lawyers will pursue that course before the riders of the District of Columbia Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. They will have two weeks to do so. If Bannon’s subpoena Sturm und Drang reached a crescendo on Friday, Mr. Trump’s is just beginning. Hours after Bannon’s sentence was disclosed, the January 6 committee sent the 45th president an official request for testimony and documents. It requests those records by November 4, and in-person or virtual interviews “on or about November 14.”In a letter accompanying the subpoena, the committee’s two senior members — Representatives Bennie Thompson and Elizabeth “Liz” Cheney — argue that they have “assembled overwhelming evidence” that Mr. Trump “personally orchestrated and oversaw a multi-part effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.”Speaking this week at Harvard, Ms. Cheney said that if Mr. Trump does not comply with the subpoena, “we’ll take the steps we need to take after that,” alluding to the possibility of a protracted legal battle. Efforts to compel Mr. Trump’s testimony would be complicated by a Republican capture of the House. That eventuality would stop the push against Mr. Trump in its tracks, as the full House would be required to issue a citation for contempt before the Department of Justice could mull prosecution. Mr. Trump has not publicly telegraphed whether he would contemplate complying with the subpoena.

Legal Peril Grows for Trump in the Form of a Subpoena and a Bannon Sentence

Legal Peril Grows for Trump in the Form of a Subpoena and a Bannon Sentence

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