Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon was released from a federal prison on Tuesday. Bannon served four months after being convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress in October 2022.
The right-wing podcast host served his time after numerous appeals and rejections, including the Trump-friendly Supreme Court’s June decision to deny another request to delay his prison sentence.
Bannon couldn’t stay out of prison despite being the beneficiary of one of the sloppy pardons Trump handed out at the end of his term in office. He was indicted on federal charges of fraud and conspiracy alleging that he and other organizers of the “We Build the Wall” nonprofit used donor money to enrich themselves instead of actually building a wall along the southern border of the United States. Bannon is still facing similar fraud charges from Manhattan prosecutors.
The Trump loyalist was back to promoting conspiracy theories on his “War Room” podcast just hours after his release on Tuesday. Whether it’s peddling 2020 election lies or ruminating about far-out theories involving ”deep state” psychological operations involving pop star Taylor Swift, Bannon’s podcast is the place where he and people like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene can peddle conspiracy theories about a murky “globalist elite.”
CNN reports that Bannon's podcast has diminished in popularity during his absence, and even a revolving crew of MAGA celebrity hosts including fellow ex-Trump adviser (and ex-convict) Peter Navarro hasn't done much for its ratings. And while many believe Bannon’s show will likely recover now that their No. 1 trainwreck is back at the helm, a spike in ratings might not be enough to have any impact on an election that is only one week away.
“I think it’s going to take some time to bring the audience back and to mobilize them,” Madeline Peltz, deputy director for rapid response at Media Matters, told CNN. “I don’t think the one-week period between now and the election is enough time to complete that, but I think really, you’ll see it kick into high gear in the post-election chaos that we’re all sort of anticipating.”
Bannon’s New York trial for his border-wall fraud was delayed while he served his prison time and is set to begin in December. Thoughts and prayers.
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