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The prison news of longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon has sparked fury among MAGA fans, who claim it further shows "the death of the judicial system in America."
On Thursday, a federal judge ordered Bannon to report to prison by July 1 for defying a House subpoena, granting the Justice Department's request that Bannon serve out his four-month prison sentence while he tries to appeal his conviction. A jury found Bannon guilty on two criminal charges of contempt of Congress in July 2022. He was sentenced in October 2022.
Former President Donald Trump weighed in with a Truth Social post on Thurdsay afternoon, calling it "a Total and Complete American Tragedy" and blaming President Joe Biden's "crooked" Justice Department. "The unAmerican Weaponization of our Law Enforcement has reached levels of Illegality never thought possible before," he wrote.
Representative Matt Gaetz wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "It is with great sadness and anger that we observe the death of the judicial system in America. Steve Bannon sought judicial review of the illegal demands of a runaway congressional committee, unlike any ever comprised. It was literally a matter of first impression. And they're sending him to prison - not just to torture him but to torture us."
Bannon was held in contempt of Congress in October 2021 after he refused to comply with a subpoena from the January 6 House Committee. The government accused the Trump ally of having "pursued a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt" from the moment he received the subpoena.
"Steve Bannon is going to prison July 1st because he was held in contempt of Congress by the FAKE Jan 6th Committee that was set up by Nancy Pelosi against House rules," Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted. "The DOJ is completely corrupt!!"
On Thursday, Gaetz said he had "begged" congressional leaders to expunge the contempt proceedings related to Bannon and other former Trump White House officials, like former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and former adviser Peter Navarro, but that his requests were refused because Republicans didn't have enough votes to do so.
"We need stronger leaders. November can't come soon enough," Gaetz said.
Other conservatives also used Bannon's prison news to accuse the Biden administration of only going after Republicans, arguing that there were others who refused to comply with subpoenas issued by Congress but did not have to serve time.
"A judge just sent Steve Bannon to prison for ignoring a congressional subpoena. Hunter did the same thing. No prison. Fauci lied under oath. No prison," the popular right-wing account End Wokeness said.
"Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon has been ordered to report to prison by July 1 for 'contempt of Congress,'" internet personality Nick Sortor tweeted. "Meanwhile, Merrick Garland REFUSES to prosecute people like Hunter Biden, who repeatedly LIED UNDER OATH to Congress. THE BIDEN DOJ IS TOTALLY CORRUPT."
Podcast host Craig Chamberlin added: "When the left says 'No one is above the law', what they really mean is 'None of our political enemies are above our laws'."
But progressive political commentator Luke Beasley pushed back on those arguments, noting that Judge Carl Nichols, who revoked Bannon's bail and ordered him to report to prison, was appointed by Trump in 2019.
"Hey MAGA, the federal judge who just ordered Steve Bannon to report to prison was appointed by Trump," Nichols said.
Update 6/6/24, 4:18 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from former President Donald Trump.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more