Steve Bannon Issues Ominous Warning To Mark Milley

Media figure Steve Bannon has issued a warning to retired General Mark Milley, claiming he will be "held accountable" in a second Donald Trump administration over calls he made to his former Chinese counterpart in the final tumultuous months of Trump's term in office.

Milley, who stepped down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October, has defended himself from attacks from Trump and his allies over his calls to General Li Zuocheng of the People's Liberation Army to assure him that the United States was not going to suddenly go to war with or attack China during Trump's last weeks as president.

He said the calls were within the duties of his job, saying in a 60 Minutes interview last month that there was "absolutely nothing inappropriate or treasonous about them."

Trump said in September that it was "an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH! A war between China and the United States could have been the result of this treasonous act."

Bannon, a longtime Trump ally, said on his War Room podcast that Milley "wouldn't get away with this."

"We're gonna hold him accountable," Bannon said.

"We don't know the form yet or how charges are going to be filed, but this guy is not going to get away with this. It was treasonous.

"You specifically talked to the Chinese Communist Party, the PLA, about your mindset and the mindset of the American military in that trying time, and you did not run that by the commander-in-chief, who you swore an oath of office to protect the Constitution.

"He's the commander-in-chief. If you had a problem, you should have resigned right then. You didn't. You're cunning, you're sneaky, you're a liar, and you're treasonous, and you will be held accountable."

Bannon added to Newsweek on Sunday that Milley "needs to face legal action as soon as possible."

Milley has been contacted for comment through the Pentagon via email.

Bannon was convicted in July last year of two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was sentenced to four months in prison in October 2022, but a judge allowed him to remain free pending appeal.

Bannon is also set to stand trial in May next on separate money-laundering, fraud and conspiracy charges in New York related to the "We Build the Wall" campaign. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors allege that Bannon falsely promised people that donations would go toward building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, but the money was used to enrich Bannon and others involved in the project.