The House January 6 investigation hoped to send a fear-inducing message deep into Donald Trump’s inner circle by opening the way to the prosecution of Steve Bannon.
But the risks of that strategy became clear on Monday as the ex-President’s political arsonist turned himself in to the FBI after a grand jury had indicted him for contempt of Congress last week. Ever the outsider wrecking ball, Bannon set the example for turning efforts to hold Trump acolytes accountable into fuel for more extremism.
The former Wall Street banker turned firebrand populist podcaster relished his moment in the spotlight, embracing victimhood in the name of Trumpism just like political dirty tricks master and Trump fan Roger Stone.
He vowed to topple the Biden “regime” and to make the charges against him a “misdemeanor from Hell” for the President, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who signed off on his prosecution.
“I am never going to back down. They took on the wrong guy this time,” Bannon said, launching what is effectively a political campaign that will unfold alongside what could be a long legal fight, which could even outlast the committee’s lifespan if Republicans win control of the House next November and shut down the probe.
