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Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist, issued a warning after former President Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury late Thursday for allegedly violating presidential campaign rules ahead of the 2016 election, saying "sow the wind, reap the whirlwind."
Bannon told Newsweek on Friday afternoon that his warning is in reference to the "American globalist elites [prosecutors] who persecute Trump through tools like [Manhattan District Attorney Alvin] Bragg for leading a populist movement that is focused on stripping them of their unearned wealth, power, and privileges."
Additionally, in a post on Gettr on Thursday, he warned that the justice system under the Biden administration "will stop at nothing to destroy" Trump.
Bannon, a staunch Trump supporter, made the remark in a post in which he shared a comment by former Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who slammed the "Radical left" for the indictment.
"This is a dark moment in the history of our Nation," Lake tweeted Thursday. "The Radical Left and their weaponized criminal justice system have crossed all legal & ethical lines in an attempt to destroy the 45th & 47th President of the United State of America Donald J. Trump. It only makes him stronger."
Trump was being investigated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office into a hush money payment of $130,000 paid by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet ahead of the 2016 presidential election about an affair she claims she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the affair and repeatedly refers to Daniels as "horse face."
Over the past few weeks, Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, heavily criticized the investigation as he continued to maintain his innocence and called for his supporters on Truth Social to protest against the probe.
New York prosecutors this month claimed that the payment to Daniels might be considered a campaign violation and also found that the Trump Organization recorded the reimbursement to Cohen as legal expenses. It is against state law in New York for companies to misclassify the nature of expenses. This could lead to a misdemeanor charge, which would become a felony if the misclassification took place in order to cover up another crime.
A grand jury voted to issue charges against Trump, making him the first president in U.S. history to be indicted. The details of the charges remain sealed, but CNN reported, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the case, that Trump is facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud. He is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
"This evening we contacted Mr. Trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.'s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal," the district attorney's office said in a statement Thursday. "Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected."
The indictment sent shockwaves Thursday night among conservatives and MAGA Republicans.
In a number of posts on Gettr, Bannon described the indictment as a "travesty" marking "one of America's darkest days" that made "MAGA Furious."
Trump also echoed Bannon's remark and was criticized on Twitter by former GOP Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.
"Trump called this the darkest day in American history," Kinzinger said. "Not Antietam, Not Pearl Harbor, not 9/11. This."
Republican Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado called the investigation a "political witch hunt," while GOP Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called the indictment a "political persecution" and said that the "Democrat Party's hatred for Donald Trump knows no bounds."
Update 3/31/2023, 2:55 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from Bannon.
About the writer
Fatma Khaled is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. politics, world ... Read more