International
Ex-Trump aide Bannon faces possible prison for contempt
| By AFP |
Donald Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon faces possible prison time Friday, when a judge will set his sentence for refusing to testify in Congress’ probe of the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Bannon, a longtime political strategist and vocal advocate for the Republican former president, was found guilty in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena to testify.
The Justice Department urged the court Monday to sentence the 68-year-old to six months in prison — the high end of sentencing guidelines but less than the maximum possible 12 months — and fine him $200,000, pointing out that Bannon had repeatedly sought to delay the proceedings by hinting he might cooperate.
Bannon “has pursued a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt,” the department said.
Bannon, who currently runs a streaming political commentary website, asked the court to sentence him to probation, saying he had rejected the congressional subpoena on the advice of his lawyers.
He also asked that the court place a stay on implementation of any sentence while his appeal of the original verdict goes ahead.
“Mr. Bannon respectfully asserts that a sentence of incarceration would violate his constitutional rights,” his submission said.
The investigation by a special House committee has depicted Bannon as knowing in advance of the plan by hardline Trump supporters to attack the Capitol on January 6 to prevent Democrat Joe Biden from being confirmed as the next president.
It also showed him advocating for Congress to block Biden — who defeated Trump in the November 2020 election — from becoming president.
“The rioters who overran the Capitol on January 6 did not just attack a building — they assaulted the rule of law upon which this country was built and through which it endures,” the Justice Department told the court in its sentencing memo.
“By flouting the Select Committee’s subpoena and its authority, the defendant exacerbated that assault.”
Bannon was one of the masterminds behind Trump’s original presidential campaign and victory in 2016.
He served in the White House for the first seven months of Trump’s term as chief strategist, leaving reportedly due to conflicts with other top staffers.
In 2020, Bannon was charged together with others with wire fraud and money laundering for taking millions of dollars for personal use that donors contributed to their scheme to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
While others were found guilty in the scheme, before leaving office in January 2021, Trump issued of blanket pardon for Bannon, leading to the dismissal of the charges against him.
International
Suspect Armed With Shotgun and Knives Detained at White House Correspondents Dinner
U.S. authorities confirmed Saturday that the suspect who stormed into the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner while President Donald Trump was attending acted alone, adding that there is no ongoing threat to the public following the incident, which left one Secret Service agent injured.
Acting Metropolitan Police Department chief Jeff Carroll said during a press conference that the suspect was carrying “a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives” when he attempted to pass through a Secret Service security checkpoint inside the hotel lobby at approximately 8:36 p.m. local time.
“At this point, everything indicates that this was a lone actor, a lone gunman,” Carroll stated, adding that investigators have found no preliminary evidence suggesting the involvement of additional suspects.
During the exchange of gunfire inside the hotel corridors, the suspect was not struck by bullets but was subdued by law enforcement officers and later transported to a hospital for medical evaluation.
A member of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division was shot during the incident, though the bullet was stopped by the officer’s ballistic vest, preventing serious injuries. The agent was taken to a hospital and is reportedly “in good spirits,” according to Carroll.
The shooting prompted the immediate evacuation of President Trump, Melania Trump, and several senior officials attending the event after multiple gunshots were heard outside the hotel’s main ballroom.
International
U.S. allows Venezuela to fund Maduro and Cilia Flores’ legal defense
Until now, the U.S. administration had blocked the Venezuelan government from covering the legal fees of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is also jailed and facing drug trafficking charges, due to international sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
The couple’s legal team had relied on that argument in an attempt to have the indictment dismissed, claiming that preventing a defendant from accessing counsel of their choice violates rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
However, the U.S. Treasury Department will now allow “defense attorneys to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” New York prosecutor Jay Clayton wrote in a letter dated Friday to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case.
According to the letter, the funds must have become available after March 5, 2026, and cannot come from Venezuelan oil sales regulated in the United States.
Since Maduro’s removal from power in early January, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s interim leader.
The United States effectively controls Venezuelan crude exports, with revenues deposited into special accounts supervised by Washington.
Court documents filed on Friday show that the defense acknowledged the sanctions exemption and, for now, withdrew its motion seeking dismissal of the charges.
International
U.S. Sanctions Network Linked to Fentanyl Trafficking Across India, Guatemala and Mexico
The United States Department of State announced sanctions on Thursday against 23 individuals and companies allegedly linked to an international fentanyl production and smuggling network operating in India, Guatemala and Mexico.
According to the State Department, the network supplied precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Washington declared fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, a weapon of mass destruction last year due to its role in the ongoing overdose crisis in the United States.
“By targeting the entire supply chain — from chemical suppliers in Asia to logistical intermediaries in Central America and cartel-linked networks in Mexico — the Trump Administration is dismantling networks that destabilize governance across our hemisphere and threaten U.S. security,” the State Department said.
In a separate statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control detailed sanctions against three Indian chemical and pharmaceutical companies: Sutaria, Agrat and SR Chemicals, along with a sales executive accused of supplying precursor chemicals to contacts in Guatemala and Mexico.
In Guatemala, authorities sanctioned J and C Import and Central Logística de Servicios, as well as intermediary Jaime Augusto Barrientos.
The OFAC also designated several intermediaries and import companies operating in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
As part of the investigation, U.S. authorities identified Ramiro Baltazar Félix as a member of Los Mayos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and Alejandro Reynoso, accused of operating clandestine drug laboratories in Guadalajara.
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