Steve Bannon scheduled to report to federal prison for defying congressional subpoena
PBS NewsHour3 days
Steve Bannon Begins Four-Month Prison Sentence for Contempt
Above: Steve Bannon, the former Donald Trump White House strategist, addresses the media on July 1, 2024 in Danbury, Connecticut. Image copyright: David Dee Delgado/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Former advisor to Pres. Donald Trump Steve Bannon traveled to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut on Monday to serve his four-month prison sentence on charges of contempt of Congress.
Before turning himself in, Bannon told a crowd that he's "proud to go to prison" if it's what it takes to "stand up to tyranny." Addressing a priest who attended to give spiritual guidance he said: "Pray for our enemies. They’re the ones who are going to need the prayers."
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
Regarding the contempt case, Bannon blatantly defied a lawful congressional subpoena — violations that a jury found him guilty of. This shouldn't surprise anyone, however, given Bannon's other legal troubles. The man who hindered a congressional investigation is also under indictment in New York on conspiracy charges after he fraudulently took donor money for what he falsely claimed would go toward building a border wall.
Pro-Trump narrative
Bannon is in fact a political prisoner given that he's only sitting in jail due to his affiliation with Donald Trump. No one else in modern history has gone to jail for defying a congressional subpoena, but in the age of Trump, the establishment politicians and their friends in the weaponized Dept. of Justice have essentially persecuted their opponents. The Jan. 6 Committee was also improperly formed and run, which makes this entire saga fraudulent from the beginning.