Federal prosecutors urged the U.S. Court of Appeals on Monday to deny an emergency motion to keep an outspoken ally of former President Donald Trump from going to prison next month.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon "cannot meet the legal standard" to further delay his four-month sentence for contempt of Congress after the appeals court in Washington, D.C., unanimously upheld his conviction, prosecutors said in a 25-page court filing.
Bannon's "speculation" that the Supreme Court might take up his case "says nothing about the likelihood" it would happen, and that possibility "is not a relevant consideration," they said.
Prosecutors also rejected Bannon's claim that there's "strong public interest" in keeping him free for Trump's latest White House bid, saying he "cannot reconcile his claim for special treatment with the bedrock principle of equal justice under the law."
"Because Bannon cannot justify what would be an extraordinary exception to the general rule of detention following conviction and an unsuccessful appeal, his motion should be denied," they wrote.
In July 2022, a Washington, D.C., jury found Bannon guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.
Following his sentencing, Bannon was allowed to remain free pending appeal but after losing that effort last month, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump nominee, ordered him to report to prison by July 1.
"I've got great lawyers, and we're going to go all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to," Bannon told reporters after Nichols ruled against him in court on June 6.
