Another former advisor to President Donald Trump has reported to prison after failing to comply with a congressional subpoena.
Steve Bannon arrived at the Federal Correction Institute in Danbury, Connecticut on the morning of July 1. Bannon was ordered to turn himself in after a federal judge revoked his bail on June 6.
Bannon has previously been convicted of two counts of contempt after he refused to comply with a Congressional subpoena from the special committee investigating the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Supreme Court of The United States rejected his request to remain free while pursuing an appeal of his initial conviction. He has been sentenced to four months.
The host of the War Room podcast briefly addressed his imprisonment while speaking to the media in Connecticut. He said he was “proud” of what he did and called the Jan. 6 special committee “completely illegitimate.”
“I am proud of going to prison,” Bannon said, per CT Insider. “It's next man up, they can't stop this.”
A crowd of supporters, including Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, rallied around Bannon outside the federal facility.
Bannon hosted Monday morning's episode of War Room from a location "just down the road" from Danbury, he said.
During the broadcast, Bannon, who introduced himself as "federal prisoner 05635509," said that the program will continue with 10 to 20 rotating guests who will host in his absence.
Bannon also addressed his impending incarceration on his show on June 30.
“I’m excited,” said the 70-year-old. “I don’t give two f---s about going to Danbury prison, OK? Here’s what I give a f--- about – we are going to take down [Attorney General] Merrick Garland and [Deputy Attorney General] Lisa Monaco and the corrupt DOJ and the FBI and all of it.”
“I could care less,” he added. “I am excited because MAGA is going to let out a roar tonight and tomorrow and the next day … and burn it all down until we get to November 5th where President Trump is going to win in a landslide.”
Congressional Republicans have also argued that the Jan. 6 committee acted improperly. The Committee on House Administration's Subcommittee on Oversight argued in a press release on June 26 that the special committee was improperly formed.
The subcommittee said:The Select Committee did not function within the bounds of the Select Committee's own rules, nor House Rules, because the Select Committee had no Ranking Member of the Minority. Vice-chair Liz Cheney was not a Ranking Member. Therefore, the Select Committee violated House Rules, and its own rules, by attempting to compel Mr. Bannon to appear for a deposition without notifying a Ranking Member.
… The Department of Justice’s indictment of Mr. Bannon specifically references Mr. Bannon’s failure to appear for a deposition. The Select Committee’s inability to comply with its own rules invalidate Bannon’s contempt order and the prosecution of Mr. Bannon should be dismissed or reconsidered in light of this information.
Bannon is the second Trump advisor to be convicted of contempt and imprisoned. Peter Navarro, who served as a trade advisor to Trump, was also convicted of two counts of contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the committee.
The 74-year-old was also sentenced to four months behind bars. He entered federal custody in Miami in March after the Supreme Court declined to take up his appeal.
“This is not about me,” said Navarro in his last press conference. “One of the big stories is about what is really an unprecedented assault on the constitutional separation of powers and the doctrine of executive privileges. … When I walk in that jail today, the justice system – such as it is – will have done a crippling blow to the constitutional separation of powers.”
