After Steve Bannon’s conviction, sends a harmful message

The only justification for Bannon’s bitterness right now is that he thinks laws either shouldn’t exist or shouldn’t apply to him. Yesterday, Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison, sixty days less than prosecutors requested, and a fine of $6,500, or $193,500 less than prosecutors requested. All of this could have been avoided if Bannon had simply complied with the subpoena and required the Fifth or whatever. Instead, he was found lightly guilty and sentenced to a modest sentence. He then went to Tucker Carlson’s show to slap dangerously and arrogantly:

“The entire Justice Department under Merrick Garland has become radically partisan,” Bannon told Tucker Carlson Friday night. “I have every faith that Merrick Garland will be impeached by the new Congress next year.”

He’ll think of a crime later.

“What do you think this says about our system in general?” Carlson asked. “You say you are being sent to prison for providing political advice to Donald Trump. I mean, that doesn’t sound like a free country for something like this to happen.”

No, he will not go to jail for providing political advice to Donald Trump. Jared Kushner provided political advice to Donald Trump, went and testified, and will not go to jail. Bannon goes to jail for not wanting to talk about his advice.

“Right now it’s not free,” Bannon replied. “The Justice Department is completely out of control, and the FBI is out of control. That’s why I firmly believe in disappointing the FBI. Use the appropriation process to defund these two contraptions until they come to the table and we start cleaning the rat’s nest.

Child trafficking, fentanyl trafficking, cybercrime, all of these must be allowed while we disappoint the FBI because the FBI keeps arresting Trumpers. It would be interesting to hear what Bannon thinks needs cleaning.

But his message is more dangerous than amusing. He, along with Tucker Carlson, continues to delegitimize the only law enforcement agency we have equipped to deal with presidential-level crimes. Also, the FBI, seemingly like everything else, is the agency that protects the nation’s secrets. Yesterday we learned that Trump had classified information about Iran and China in Mar-a-Lago. The FBI is the agency charged with counterintelligence duties, and Bannon wants to further delegitimize the FBI?

He was subpoenaed to answer questions in an inquest. Without any apologies, he continued to ignore the subpoenas. This is the guy who said on January 5, “All hell will break loose tomorrow…” Maybe that’s why he never showed up. But there’s no big deep state conspiracy to bring Steve Bannon here. Jared Kushner has surfaced and doesn’t need to go to jail. Bannon ignored the subpoena and will make a report after his appeal.

@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, columnist, author and lawyer. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teens and college days in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. Today he enjoys life as a single father to a young girl and writes on the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves making his flower pots, cooking and is currently studying philosophy of science, religion and non-mathematical principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please do not hesitate to contact us for lectures or other concerns.