Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon must go to jail

(Patria) - Steve Bannon, former Donald Trump adviser, must go to jail by July 1 to serve a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress, a federal judge said.

The decision means that Bannon, a right-winger who remains influential in Trump's circles, will likely be in jail during a key phase of the presidential election campaign on November 5, in which Trump will face off against Democratic President Joe Biden.

The order from U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols of Washington was issued after a federal appeals court last month rejected Bannon's attempt to quash a subpoena from a congressional panel investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Bannon told reporters outside the courthouse that he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene, calling it a politically motivated prosecution.

"This is all about one thing – shutting down the MAGA movement," he said, referring to Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again".

Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over documents and testify before a House committee.

He will be the second former high-ranking Trump official to end up in jail for refusing to cooperate with the committee. Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser, is serving a four-month prison sentence.

Steve Bannon was among Trump's advisers who sought to prevent the confirmation of Biden's victory in the 2020 election, but he was no longer working in the White House at the time.