The Political Insider

On Monday, the Department of Justice recommended a six month jail sentence and a fine of $200,000 for former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who defied subpoena last fall to appear before before the Jan. 6 Select Committee.

According to prosecutors, Bannon has “has pursued a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt,” since the beginning of the case.

Bannon was found guilty in July on two counts of contempt of Congress; one count for refusing to testify before the committee, and another for failing to provide documents.

Bannon is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.

But there was another interesting point that appeared to aggravate prosecutors. The fact that Steve Bannon has a First Amendment right seemed to be a problem for them.

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Problems For The DOJ

Prosecutors cited the fact that Steve Bannon was using his “War Room” podcast to say exactly what he thought about the Jan. 6 committee and their power to issue subpoenas. In the sentencing memo, prosecutors J.P. Cooney and Amanda Vaughn whined,

“The Defendant’s statements prove that his contempt was not aimed at protecting executive privilege or the Constitution, rather it was aimed at undermining the Committee’s efforts to investigate an historic attack on government.

“The Defendant launched attacks on the Committee and the criminal justice process immediately after his arraignment, on November 15, 2021, when he gathered the press outside of the courthouse and joined his attorneys in a five-minute statement.”

Steve Bannon has been making life difficult for the government and the Jan. 6 committee since his indictment last November. As a few of his supporters stood outside the Washington D.C. office when he initially turned himself in, he bolstered their spirits, telling them to stay focused. He added, “I don’t want anybody to take their eye off the ball of what we do every day.”

As he left a Washington D.C. courthouse the Monday after his indictment, Bannon looked like man who was ready for a fight, and had this to say, “I’m telling you right now, this is going to be the misdemeanor from hell for Merrick Garland, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden… We’re going on the offense. They took on the wrong guy this time; they took on the wrong guys.”

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If It Weren’t For Double Standards…

Too often, justice seems to depend on whether you have an “R” or a “D” after your name.

Back in 2012, then-Attorney General Eric Holder was cited for contempt of Congress for his part in the “Fast and Furious” operation that smuggled guns to Mexican drug cartels.

The Justice Department did not recommend any criminal charges against Holder in that case.

In 2015, IRS official Lois Lerner was front and center in case that involved the IRS specifically targeting conservative and Tea Party groups when they applied for tax exempt status. The Justice Department also declined to press criminal charges. 

Steve Bannon’s sentence will be issued by U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols.