(Reuters) – Steve Bannon, a long-time ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, was released on Tuesday from prison, where he had been serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.
Bannon, 70, had been serving his sentence in a low-security facility in Danbury, Connecticut.
He was released one week before the U.S. presidential election, which pits Trump, a Republican, against Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat.
Bannon was a key adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and was Trump’s chief White House strategist in 2017 before a falling-out that they later patched up.
In 2022, Bannon was convicted on two misdemeanor counts for defying a subpoena from the U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, refusing to turn over documents or testify.
Bannon remained free while he appealed, arguing that he had no intent to commit a crime because his lawyer had told him that he need not comply with the subpoena.
In May, a federal appeals court in Washington upheld Bannon’s conviction, saying that ignoring subpoenas could “hamstring” Congress’ power to investigate by making it harder to prosecute witnesses who spurn congressional investigations.
Bannon played a leading role in right-wing media before and after working in the White House, and is returning to host his “WarRoom” podcast.
House investigators had sought information from Bannon, following his prediction the day before the Jan. 6 attack that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.”
The attack was led by Trump supporters aiming to halt Congress’ certification of Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Bannon viewed the Democratic-led committee’s probe as politically motivated.
Peter Navarro, a former Trump trade adviser, also served a four-month prison sentence for defying a subpoena from the same committee.
(Reporting by New York Newsroom; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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