Former Trump adviser Bannon hosts podcast after getting out of prison : NPR

Steve Bannon, the right-wing podcaster and one-time political adviser to former President Donald Trump, was launched from federal jail Tuesday morning after serving 4 months behind bars for contempt of Congress.

Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two counts for defying subpoenas from the Home choose committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. He left jail every week earlier than Election Day, as Trump and Vice President Harris ship their respective closing messages in a good race for the White Home.

Simply hours after his launch, Bannon returned to host a brand new episode of his each day podcast, “Battle Room.” Wearing a black shirt and together with his grey hair slicked again, Bannon falsely claimed that former Democratic Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi despatched him to federal jail as a political prisoner “to tamp down the ability of this present and to interrupt me.”

“4 months in federal jail didn’t break me. It empowered me,” Bannon advised his on-line viewers. “I’m extra energized and extra centered than I’ve been in my whole life.”

Bannon echoed the false argument of different Republicans, together with Trump, who accuse Democrats of weaponizing the Justice Division and the authorized system in opposition to members of the celebration.

Bannon served his four-month sentence on the federal lockup in Danbury, Conn. One other former Trump aide, Peter Navarro, additionally served 4 months in jail after being convicted of the identical costs.

Quite a lot of folks crammed in on the “Battle Room” podcast whereas Bannon was in jail. He marked his return to the podcast with a fiery message for Trump’s supporters forward of Election Day, telling them: “This can be a battle not merely for the path of this nation however what this nation stands for.”

Democrats, Bannon claimed, “don’t have any intention of giving up energy.”

Trump’s supporters in Congress even have lobbed accusations of politicization in opposition to the Justice Division, pointing to the 2 federal indictments introduced in opposition to the previous president for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election and for hoarding categorized paperwork.

Lawyer Normal Merrick Garland has rejected the allegations. Lately, the division has twice indicted President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, for gun and tax crimes; charged two Democratic members of Congress with corruption; indicted the Democratic mayor of New York Metropolis on corruption costs; and investigated the president himself over his dealing with of categorized paperwork after his vice presidency.

At a information convention later within the day, Bannon stated his quick focus is getting Trump supporters to the polls earlier than and on Nov. 5, and on guaranteeing “election integrity.”

“My focus is on victory subsequent Tuesday and the largest quantity attainable, as a result of people: do not suppose it should finish on Tuesday,” he stated. “That is going to take some time to type via.”

That stated, Bannon accused the Harris marketing campaign of making ready for a probably contentious authorized battle after Election Day. He overlooked that the Trump marketing campaign is making comparable preparations.