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Ex-Trump aide Bannon faces possible prison for contempt

Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP

| 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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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International

Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns

At least 10 newborns have died following a fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Jhansi, India, which was attributed to a faulty oxygen machine, authorities reported on Saturday, adding that 39 babies were rescued.

“Unfortunately, 10 infants have died,” said Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, regarding the fire that occurred on Friday night.

The fire started at 10:30 PM (17:00 GMT) at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical University in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

The rescued babies, all only a few days old, were moved to another area of the hospital for treatment.

Dr. Narendra Senga, the director of a medical faculty attached to the hospital, also confirmed the death toll of 10 infants.

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International

Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized

Seven British citizens were arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking in an operation that led to the seizure of 1.2 tons of the drug, which is made from cannabis resin, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported on Saturday.

“National Police agents, in collaboration with the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the UK, have dismantled an organization allegedly dedicated to transporting drugs in trucks in Marbella and Elche,” the ministry stated in a press release.

“Agents seized 1,200 kilos of hashish and arrested seven British citizens,” the report specified.

The drugs were found in Marbella and Fuengirola, in southern Spain, as well as in Elche, in the southeastern region.

Part of the hashish was hidden in “large plastic barrels filled with fine mortar sand.”

In addition, the police seized over €63,000 in cash, five passenger vehicles, and a heavy-duty truck.

All of the detainees have been placed in pretrial detention.

Spain serves as the gateway for most of the hashish sold in Europe, due to its proximity to North Africa, the main production area.

In 2022, Spain seized 324.7 tons of hashish, according to the latest available official annual data.

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International

Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident

Fourteen members of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel were arrested in Spain following an investigation that began with the kidnapping and murder of an associate, the Spanish National Police announced on Sunday.

“The dismantled criminal network, based in Catalonia, is allegedly involved in the kidnapping and death of a man whose body was found in a wooded area of the region,” explained the National Police in a statement. The victim had traveled from Italy to meet with some of the leaders of the gang.

The criminal organization was “mainly composed of Mexican individuals” and was “linked to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.”

The victim, a 46-year-old man, was allegedly working for the organization and had traveled to Barcelona from Italy to meet with leaders of the criminal network. The kidnapping took place between late May and June, and the victim’s family in Kosovo alerted the police after receiving a ransom demand of €240,000 (approximately $253,000). The family paid part of the ransom, $32,000 in cryptocurrency.

The victim’s body, whose nationality was not disclosed, was found in August in a forest, showing signs of violence and in an advanced state of decomposition.

The arrested individuals are allegedly connected to drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, and murder. They received packages from Mexico containing methamphetamine soaked into pieces of clothing, which were sent to Catalonia. Once in Spain, they extracted the drug in a laboratory they operated.

The Sinaloa cartel is named after the northwestern Mexican state where it was founded and remains one of the most important criminal organizations in the world, despite the incarceration of two of its historic leaders, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, in the United States.

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