Steve Bannon, a top adviser to former President Donald Trump, was sentenced to four months in jail on Friday by a Washington DC court for defying a subpoena from a congressional committee investigating the riots at the US Capitol on January 6.
But the court did not order Bannon to start the jail term right away. It left him free instead to appeal the order, which Bannon and his legal team said they will.
Bannon joins a growing team of former Trump officials sent to jail one time or the other. Trump had issued presidential pardons to many of them, when in office, such as longtime adviser Roger Stone, one-time campaign manager Paul Manafort and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Bannon had left the Trump White Housejust a few months after serving as a senior adviser to the President but the two remained close. But he had claimed the cover of Trump's presidential privilege to defy the subpoena issued to him by the House committee on January 6.
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Bannon sat quietly and did not react as US District Judge Carl Nichols delivered the sentence - four months in jail and $6,500 for criminal contempt of congress.
"I respect the judge. The sentence he came down with today is his decision. I fully respect and totally respect this entire process," Bannon said outside the court after the sentencing.
"We'll have a very vigorous appeals process. I've got a great legal team, as there'll be multiple areas of appeal," he added.
On the day before the January 6 riots, Bannon had told listeners that "all hell is going to break loose" the next day.
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On January 6, hordes of Trump supporters had marched on to the US Capitol, which is home to both chambers of US Congress to prevent a joint sitting of lawmakers from certifying Joe Biden's victory in the Novembe, 2020 presidential election spurred by false claims from the former President and his lawyers and aides that he lost because of election fraud.
The January 6 committee recently announced a decision to subpoena the former President to hear from him, as Congresswoman Liz Cheney, a Republican member, has said: "We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion."
