Politics

Steve Bannon says he has no regrets as he heads to prison

Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on June 28, 2024

(NEW YORK) — On Monday, Steve Bannon will be behind bars in federal prison, but the ex-Trump White House adviser said Friday he’s feeling great and has no regrets about defying Congress to avoid talking about his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

In fact, Bannon told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl that he considers himself a “political prisoner” and that his four-month sentence will only make his influence grow.

“I’m a political prisoner … It won’t change me. It will not suppress my voice. My voice will not be suppressed when I’m there,” he told Karl.

Bannon is set to report to federal prison on Monday after the Supreme Court denied a request Friday to remain out of prison while he continues to appeal his contempt of Congress conviction.

Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison in October 2022 after being found guilty of defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

After Bannon was sentenced, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols agreed to postpone the jail term while Bannon appealed the conviction. Last month the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld his conviction and Nichols ordered Bannon on June 6 to report to prison on July 1.

Watch more of Jonathan Karl’s interview with Steve Bannon on Sunday’s episode of “This Week.”

Bannon told Karl he still has no regrets about defying the House Jan. 6 committee’s subpoena and is looking to appeal the court decision.

“If it took me going to prison to finally get the House to start to move, to start to delegitimize the illegitimate J6 committee, then, hey, guess what, my going to prison is worth it,” he said.

The January 6th committee was established by a House resolution that passed along party lines in 2021 by a vote of 222-190. Two Republicans, Illinois’ Adam Kinzinger and Wyoming’s Liz Cheney, joined Democrats in supporting the measure and later served on the committee.