Former top Trump adviser Steve Bannon, host of the popular “War Room” podcast, has responded to his conviction Friday in a D.C. federal court for defying a congressional subpoena.
In an appearance on Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s program just hours after his conviction, Bannon lashed out at what he sees as massive hypocrisy regarding Democrats and pledged his continued support for former President Donald Trump and his ‘MAGA’ agenda.
He also appealed to Republicans to find “the stones” to carry out legitimate investigations of Democrats and the Biden administration if they retake Congress in the fall midterms.
As Carlson introduced the segment, he said that on the same day of Bannon’s conviction — which he vowed to appeal, by the way — authorities in New York released a man charged with attempting to stab Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), during a campaign event as he runs for governor.
“A guy who tried to murder a gubernatorial candidate in New York was released with no bail. What are we to make of these two events occurring the same day?” he asked Bannon.
“As you can tell, the Democrats are completely lawless and look how they’ve run this committee,” Bannon said, referencing the Jan. 6 Committee. “There is no ranking member. There’s no minority counsel. It’s not like the traditional hearings that have galvanized the nation in the past.”
“We need a commission or committee on Jan. 6,” Bannon continued. “It’s got to be with the new Congress, with the Republicans in charge. We’ve got to get to the bottom of the intelligence failures, FBI involvement, DHS involvement, the intelligence services.”
“We’ve got to get to the bottom of it,” he noted further.
“They’re coming at us on every aspect. Look, they’re trying to shut you down,” he told Carlson. “[P]eople have to understand, right now, this is an ideological war, and we cannot lose. The fate of the country is [at stake] over the next couple of years.”
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Bannon pointed to the historical double-standard in prosecuting cases of contempt of Congress – which themselves are rare.
He noted how the past two cases involved Democrats who were ultimately either exonerated or never charged: then-Attorney General Eric Holder over the Fast & Furious gun-running scandal – and ex-IRS employee Lois Lerner during the revenuer’s targeting of conservative and grassroots groups.
The last prosecution of a contempt of Congress citation was against the late G. Gordon Liddy, who was connected to President Richard Nixon, a Republican.
“I would tell the January 6 [Committee] staff right now: Preserve your documents because there’s going to be a real committee. And this is going to be backed by Republican grassroots voters and MAGA to say we want to get to the bottom of this for the good of the nation,” Bannon continued.
“Republicans have to have the stones to put on a real hearing.”
He went on to double down on his support for the former president after Carlson brought up the possibility of him having to go to jail.
“If I go to jail, I go to jail. I will never back off a second,” Bannon said. “Look, I spent eight years as a naval officer; I’ve committed my life to this program…to get this done. I will never back off. I support Trump and the Constitution and I’m not backing off one inch. If I go to jail, so be it.”
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