Steve Bannon, 70, spoke defiantly as he appeared at a federal prison in Connecticut.
Danbury:
Steve Bannon, an outspoken right-wing figure in American politics and former senior adviser to Donald Trump, reported to prison on Monday to begin a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.
He was convicted of defying a subpoena to testify before the Congressional panel investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.
Bannon, 70, spoke defiantly as he appeared at a federal prison in Connecticut.
“I’m proud to go to prison today,” Bannon said, “if that’s what it takes to take on Joe Biden.”
Bannon and others argue that the lawsuits stemming from the January 6 insurrection against the seat of US democracy amount to political persecution aimed at thwarting Trump’s bid for re-election in November.
A group of people waving “Trump 2024” flags greeted Bannon outside the prison, as did Marjorie Taylor Greene, a fiercely pro-Trump lawmaker from Georgia who is one of the new faces of the Republican Party tightly controlled by the former president.
One of the masterminds of Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign, Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison in October 2022 but has remained free until now while he appeals his conviction.
A federal appeals court upheld the conviction in May, and Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols revoked Bannon’s bail at a hearing earlier this month, ordering him to report to jail by July 1.
Bannon no longer officially works for Trump, but on Monday reiterated his support for him and promised to use all his influence to bring him back to the White House, mainly through his podcast “The War Room”, which he will continue to release episodes, albeit without Bannon.
Before reporting for arrest, Bannon warned the crowd about Trump’s most imminent legal threat: On July 11, a judge in New York will announce a ruling in Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to payments. from secret money to a porn star in the run-up to the 2016 elections.
“The most important thing to remember is that President Trump will be sentenced to prison on July 11,” Bannon said.
Judge Juan Merchan could also opt for other sentences, such as probation.
Previously on his podcast, Bannon also welcomed the strong performance of the far right in the first round of legislative elections in France and in other countries in the European Parliament votes.
“This is the thrust of our movement,” Bannon said.
– Forgiven –
Bannon served in the White House as chief strategist during the first seven months of Trump’s term, reportedly leaving due to conflicts with other senior officials.
In 2020, he was accused of wire fraud and money laundering for taking millions of dollars donated by donors for the construction of a border wall with Mexico for his personal use.
While others were found guilty in the scheme, Trump granted a blanket pardon to Bannon before leaving office in January 2021, leading to the dismissal of the charges against him.
On the day of the riot at the Capitol, as thousands of pro-Trump supporters stormed the Congress building to block the certification of Biden’s victory over Trump, Bannon spoke by phone with the then-president.
As a result, congressional investigators wanted to question Bannon about his role in these events.
Bannon entered prison on the same day that the conservative-dominated U.S. Supreme Court effectively delayed Trump’s ability to be tried in federal court for trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Bannon joins the growing list of former Trump associates who have served or are currently serving prison time as a result of their ties to Trump.
Another is a former Trump economic adviser, Peter Navarro, who was also sentenced to four months in prison for defying a congressional subpoena to testify around January 6.
Others include former Trump legal advisor turned whistleblower Michael Cohen and Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg.
Trump has been indicted four times, but the hush money case is the only one that has actually gone to trial.
The other three cases – two related to his attempts to illegally remain in power after the 2020 elections and one for withholding confidential documents after leaving office – are not expected to go to trial before the presidential elections.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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