Maroc - RAWSTORY.COM - Raw Story - 12/Jun 02:50

'Prison will do him good': Bannon mocked over last-ditch effort to dodge prison surrender

Former President Donald Trump's ex-White House adviser Steve Bannon is pleading to be spared prison because it will hamstring his ability to provide "meaningful" expertise in this year's election. "The government seeks to imprison Mr. Bannon for the four-month period leading up to the November election, when millions of Americans look to him for information on important campaign issues," Bannon's new attorney Trent McCotter wrote in a recent emergency request. "This would also effectively bar Mr. Bannon from serving as a meaningful advisor in the ongoing national campaign.” The same three-judge panel rejected Bannon’s appeal on all grounds. Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Gaston, who joined special counsel Jack Smith's team, told jurors during closing arguments in 2022: “The defendant chose allegiance to Donald Trump over compliance with the law." Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sided with prosecutors, finding there was no reason to sustain his stay to let Bannon remain free from lockup now that an appeals court upheld the conviction. “I don’t believe that the original basis for my stay of Mr. Bannon’s sentence exists any longer," he said. "I no longer consider that his appeal raises substantial questions of law of a kind likely to reverse his conviction,” Nichols said, citing the appellate panel’s ruling. Bannon came out swinging against the ruling. “All of this—besides the major legal issues that have to be addressed—all of this is about one thing,” Bannon told reporters huddled outside of court. “This is about shutting down the MAGA movement, shutting down grassroots conservatives, shutting down President Trump.”ALSO READ: Texas AG Ken Paxton campaign ad mistakenly implicates Donald TrumpHe promised to prevent that."There is not a prison built or a jail built that will ever shut me up,” he said.In Tuesday's filing, Bannon asked that his prison sentence — which he is supposed to surrender to July 1 — should be nixed so he can see through his appeal and possibly prep for a Supreme Court appeal after being found in contempt of Congress from 2022 for refusing to abide by a subpoena to testify to the House Jan. 6 committee investigation. The Trump confidant and MAGA diehard submitted the request with the Washington D.C. federal appeals court and stresses that he “intends to vigorously pursue his remaining appeals” in the case where he defied Congress. Mike Stivala questioned how Bannon's bluster, often supercharged on his "War Room" podcast versus his apparent behind courtroom door jail jitters. He posted: "On camera: 'Bring it- they can lock me up but they’ll never shut be up!' In Court filings: 'Please, oh please don’t make me go to jail.'""Prison will do him good," writes @cathyob1, noting that it might aid his health. "He can work on his fitness.""He really doesn’t want to have to wear a single layer jumpsuit," reads a snarky post by @GaryHar70258384, commenting on Bannon's signature style of layering multiple collared shirts.