Appeals court rejects Steve Bannon's request to stay out of prison

June 21 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court Thursday night rejected Steven Bannon's request to stay out of prison as he appeals his criminal contempt of Congress conviction.

Bannon, a right-wing podcaster and ally of former President Donald Trump, is to report to prison July 1 after being ordered in October to serve four months behind bars for deifying a subpoena to testify in the House select committee's investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection of the U.S. Capitol.

Earlier this month, his legal team had filed a motion asking the three-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel to delay his prison sentence as he appeals his conviction -- a request the bench rejected Thursday in a 2-1 vote.

The panel said in its ruling that Bannon "knew what the subpoena required yet intentionally refused to appear or to produce any of the requested documents."

Bannon was accused by the House select committee of having information about circumstances that led to the assault on the Capitol, and had been subpoenaed to testify and hand over documents concerning discussions he had days before the insurrection with the then-outgoing president.

After defying the subpoenas, the House voted to hold him in contempt of Congress in October of 2021, with a federal grand jury indicting him a month later. He was found guilty in July 2022 and was sentenced to four months in prison that October.

Last month, the Justice Department called on the court to order Bannon to start serving his sentence. The court then earlier this month told him to report to prison on July 1.

Bannon is the second person convicted of contempt of Congress in connection to the Jan. 6 investigation. Former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro is currently serving his four-month prison sentence in Miami.