Fox News reported last week that former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon filed an emergency motion to avoid starting his prison sentence on July 1.

However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion of its own on Monday asking that Bannon's request be denied. 

Bannon sentenced to four months in prison over contempt of Congress conviction

Breitbart noted that U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols revoked Bannon's bail earlier this month. The former Trump advisor and podcast host was found guilty of contempt of Congress in October of 2022 and sentenced to four months behind bars.

DOJ Demands Appeals Court Deny Steve Bannon‘s ‘Emergency Motion‘ Delaying Prison Sentence https://t.co/zYhfCrbiDr via @BreitbartNews

— Robert Smith (@BigBobDC68) June 18, 2024

Bannon's conviction came after he refused to comply with a subpoena issued by a congressional panel which investigated the January 6 on Capitol Hill.

For his part, the 70-year-old sounded a defiant tone after being ordered to prison, saying, "There's not a prison built or a jail built that will ever shut me up. We're going to win on November 5 in an amazing landslide."

Bannon further said during a recent interview with conservative journalist and commentator Tucker Carlson that he does not fear going to jail and regards himself as a "political prison."

Defense lawyer: "Millions of American" rely on Bannon for information

Trent McCotter is one of Bannon's attorneys, and he suggested that locking up Bannon would effectively amount to election interference.

"The government seeks to imprison Mr. Bannon for the four-month period leading up to the November election, when millions of Americans look to him for information on important campaign issues," NBC News quoted McCotter as saying.

"This would also effectively bar Mr. Bannon from serving as a meaningful advisor in the ongoing national campaign," he added.

However, the DOJ responded that Bannon's "motion should be denied" as he "cannot justify what would be an extraordinary exception to the general rule of detention following conviction and an unsuccessful appeal."

DOJ says Bannon does not deserve "special treatment"

"Release pending appeal is the exception to the general rule that a defendant 'shall…be detained' following a conviction and imposition of a sentence of imprisonment," the DOJ continued.

It insisted that Bannon "cannot reconcile his claim for special treatment with the bedrock principle of equal justice under the law."

It further asserted that an "even-handed application of the bail statute" would require Bannon to begin serving his sentence.