'Why isn't Bannon in prison?' Ex-prosecutor has concerns about judge in Trump ally's case

Steve Bannon, a controversial advisor and ally to Donald Trump, should be in prison right now, yet he's skating by on a razor's edge, a former federal prosecutor said on Sunday.

Ex-prosecutor Joyce Vance raised the concern on her Civil Discourse Substack blog. She asked the question, "Why isn’t Bannon in prison to serve his sentence following the Court of Appeals decision to affirm his conviction?"

"He’s been close before, but then, nothing. Peter Navarro, who was convicted and sentenced for the same crime, has been in custody and is almost done serving his sentence at FCI Miami," Vance wrote.

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She went on to say that Navarro, another Trump advisor in the former White House administration, "did not receive a bond to stay out of custody while appealing."

"Bannon did, but he should not have. The legal standard is that a defendant must have a substantial issue that it’s likely they will prevail upon," Trump wrote. "Bannon did not—you recall he failed to show up to testify or turn over any documents at all pursuant to congressional subpoenas. While Bannon gives media interviews and continues to host his podcast, Peter Navarro is in prison, where Bannon should be too."

She continued:

"Judge Carl Nichols, who oversaw the proceedings against Bannon and granted that appeals bond, happens to be a Trump appointee who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas. He is the only judge on the District Court in the District of Columbia who ruled the government couldn’t use the obstruction statute against January 6 participants, leading to the case currently pending in front of the Supreme Court. Following the decision by a unanimous panel of the D.C. Circuit on May 10, 2024, affirming Bannon’s conviction, the government asked Judge Nichols to order Bannon into custody. That should have been routine."

"It was not," Vance added. "The Judge suggested, in an order asking for a response from Bannon, that he might not have the authority to enter the order despite the Court of Appeals decision. Then, he ruled that was the case and declined to enter the order without hearing again from the government."

Vance goes on to say that it's "time for Bannon to go to prison."

"The Court of Appeals decision was, as the government characterized it, 'full-throated,' leaving virtually no room to believe the Court of Appeals would hear the case en banc and reverse. This is not the kind of case the Supreme Court takes—there is no split in the Circuits on the issue Bannon raised about his state of mind," she wrote. "The case is over, and Bannon belongs in prison. The government directed the court to the language in the statute that says it 'shall' take the defendant into custody."

"Will Bannon finally begin his sentence, or will the Judge come up with more excuses?" the expert added. "The government’s motion suggests it’s out of patience. This could become a case for mandamus. We’ll watch this one with interest."

Read the post here.