Former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon was given a four-month prison sentence and fined $6,500 for contempt of Congress on Friday.
Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress in July after he refused a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 Committee for his testimony.
"I want to say one thing — I respect the judge, the sentence he came down with today is his decision. I've been totally respectful to this entire process on the legal side," Bannon said after learning of his sentence.
Bannon was released while he considers appealing the verdict. If an appeal is not made by his legal team, he will have to voluntarily surrender himself by November 15, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ordered, FOX News reported.
"I want to thank all you guys for coming," Bannon said before he walked into the courtroom on Friday. "Remember this illegitimate regime, their judgment day is on the eighth of November when the Biden administration ends. I want to thank you all for coming."
A six-month sentence and a $200,000 fine had been asked for by the Justice Department in the case. The charge revolved around Bannon’s refusal to follow a subpoena to testify before the Jan. 6 Committee.
Federal prosecutors had urged that the judge give Bannon at least a six month sentence, referring to his “contempt” of the law.
"From the moment that the defendant, Stephen K. Bannon, accepted service of a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, he has pursued a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt," prosecutors said on Monday.
"The Committee sought documents and testimony from the Defendant relevant to a matter of national importance: the circumstances that led to a violent attack on the Capitol and disruption of the peaceful transfer of power. In response, the Defendant flouted the Committee's authority and ignored the subpoena's demands."
Bannon cited executive privilege in refusing to testify before the committee about the events of January 6, 2021. But prosecutors responded that he had left the White House in 2017.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)