NEW YORK: Steve Bannon, one of the brains behind Donald Trump's far-right movement, was released from prison on Tuesday after spending nearly four months behind bars, throwing another wildcard into the US election, just a week away. Bannon left a federal prison in Connecticut where he was serving time for a contempt of Congress conviction, and immediately took to the airwaves to boost Trump, attack his rivals and amplify election conspiracy theories. "You can see today, I'm far from broken. I've been empowered by my four months at Danbury federal prison," Bannon told a briefing, confirming he had already spoken to Trump following his release.
Bannon, who called himself a political prisoner, was convicted of defying a subpoena to testify before the congressional panel investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump's supporters. "I was able to listen, to observe and to learn from working class minorities" in prison, Bannon said, claiming that young African American and Hispanic inmates in Danbury considered Vice President Kamala Harris to be the "queen" of mass incarceration.
When he entered prison on July 1, he defiantly said he was "proud" to serve time "if it's what it takes to stand up to (President) Joe Biden." One of the masterminds behind Trump's successful 2016 presidential campaign, Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison in October 2022, but remained free while appealing his conviction.
A federal appeals court upheld the conviction in May, and District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, revoked Bannon's bail at a court hearing, ordering him to report to prison. Bannon took a senior role late in Trump's 2016 campaign and later served in the White House as his chief strategist, leaving after seven months, reportedly due to conflicts with other top staffers. Though he no longer works officially for the ex-president, he has continued to use his influence to get him back in the White House, mainly through his podcast "The War Room."
Bannon said on Tuesday that the country was "on the cusp of the biggest political comeback in the history of this nation," but also warned that Trump's rivals were conspiring to undermine the Republican. "They understand they can't beat this at the ballot box, we're going to have a reprise of 2020 where they're going to try to do everything humanly possible to nullify Trump's election and delegitimise his second term," Bannon said, without offering evidence. — AFP
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