A federal judge ordered Steve Bannon, a close associate of former President Donald Trump, to start his four-month prison term by July 1. This comes after Bannon defied a subpoena from the House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington granted the Justice Department’s request to have Bannon start his prison term, following a federal appeals court panel's confirmation of his contempt of Congress conviction last month, The Associated Press reports. Bannon is expected to seek a stay of the judge’s order, which could delay his surrender date. “We’re going to go all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to,” Bannon told reporters.
Bannon was convicted nearly two years ago of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition with the Jan. 6 House Committee and the other for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement in Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Nichols had initially allowed him to remain free while he fought his conviction because the judge believed the case raised substantial legal questions. But during a Washington federal court hearing, Nichols said the calculus changed after the appeals court panel said all of Bannon’s challenges lack merit.