Because the wheels of justice turn exceedingly slow — and with a wobble — Steve Bannon is still a free man.
Back in July 2022, the former White House aide was convicted of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena in its investigation of the Capitol riot. The day before the insurrection, Bannon declared that “all hell is going to break loose.” House investigators wanted to know what he knew, what he meant, and whether he was in communication with Donald Trump that day. But Bannon flatly refused to comply with the subpoena and then offered no defense at his trial. Although he was sentenced to four months in jail, Bannon remains free while he appeals. (His ex-attorneys are meanwhile suing Bannon for $480,000 in unpaid legal bills.)
This is not Bannon’s only legal problem, however.
Like his benefactor Trump, Bannon’s legal problems have only enhanced his clout.
Two years earlier, in 2020, Bannon was arrested on the yacht of a Chinese billionaire and charged with defrauding donors to a “We Build the Wall” project that had promised a privately funded but, alas, fictional border wall. He slipped out of those federal charges after he was pardoned by Trump. But he will go on trial in May after New York state took up the case, charging him with money laundering, criminal conspiracy and a “scheme to defraud” related to the alleged scam. (Bannon has pleaded not guilty.)
But in MAGA world, none of this matters. Like his benefactor Trump, Bannon’s legal problems have only enhanced his clout.
In 2022, Axios named him one of the GOP’s new kingmakers. His podcast, “The War Room” had become a go-to “audition stage” for Republican wannabes and “a gold mine” for grassroots fundraising. Other Republicans bend the knee out of sheer terror of Bannon’s wrath.
Bannon’s new ascendancy was on vivid display recently at the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference. Trump was the main speaker, but Bannon “hosted the only party…
Read the full article here
