Steve Bannon

Steve Bannon
Basic facts
Organization:	Breitbart News
Role:	Executive chairman
Location:	Washington, D.C.
Education:	•Virginia Tech •Georgetown University (M.A.) •Harvard University (M.B.A.)
Prior Experience •Breitbart News •Donald Trump 2016 presidential •Chief strategist, Donald Trump presidential administration

Steve Bannon is a conservative media and political strategist and the former chief strategist for Donald Trump's (R) presidential administration. On August 18, 2017, it was announced that he was no longer serving in the Trump administration and would return to Breitbart News, where he had served as executive chairman prior to joining Trump's campaign and administration. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the departure in a statement, saying, "White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve's last day. We are grateful for his service and wish him the best."

On January 3, 2018, excerpts from Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, a book by Michael Wolff about the Trump White House that attributed quotes critical of Trump's inner circle to Bannon, were released. Trump responded by denouncing Bannon and sending him a cease and desist letter. Bannon indicated in subsequent radio appearances and in a statement that, despite Trump's denunciation, he continued to support him.

Some Bannon endorsees and supporters, including Breitbart co-owner Rebekah Mercer, also distanced themselves from Bannon in the wake of the release of the book excerpts. On January 9, 2018, Breitbart announced that Bannon was stepping down from his position as executive chairman of the network. Click here to read more about the quotes attributed to Bannon in Fire and Fury and the ensuing events.

Bannon, who received a master's degree in national security studies from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard University, formerly worked as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs. He was the Trump campaign's chief executive from August to November 2016.

On August 20, 2020, Bannon was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering related to an online fundraising campaign called "We Build the Wall." He was pardoned by Trump on January 20, 2021. To read more about these charges and subsequent pardon, click here.

Early career

Military and education

After receiving a bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech, Bannon joined the military and served overseas. He has said that he became more conservative while in the service because of disagreements he had with former President Jimmy Carter's (D) foreign policy approach. He ultimately became a Republican out of admiration for former President Ronald Reagan (R). Bannon explained his political evolution from Democrat to Republican to anti-establishment conservative to Bloomberg in 2015, saying:

“

I come from a blue-collar, Irish Catholic, pro-Kennedy, pro-union family of Democrats. I wasn’t political until I got into the service and saw how badly Jimmy Carter f---ed things up. I became a huge Reagan admirer. Still am. But what turned me against the whole establishment was coming back from running companies in Asia in 2008 and seeing that Bush had f---ed up as badly as Carter. The whole country was a disaster.

”

After returning from his time overseas, Bannon served as the special assistant to the chief of Naval operations and earned a master's degree in national security studies at Georgetown University at night. He then went on to earn his M.B.A. at Harvard in 1983, securing a job with the investment firm Goldman Sachs after graduation.

Financial sector

While at Goldman Sachs, Bannon "worked on a series of leveraged buyouts," according to Bloomberg, and eventually opened Bannon & Co., an investment firm that specialized in buying media rights. One of his clients, Westinghouse Electric, wanted to sell a subsidiary, Castle Rock Entertainment. When Bannon found a buyer for the company, Westinghouse suggested that Bannon waive some of his fee and take an ownership stake in Castle Rock's television rights. Bannon did, and he ended up making millions of dollars on royalties from Seinfeld when the show was later put into syndication. At the time of the sale, Seinfeld was in its third season and little-known.

Biosphere 2

From 1993 to 1996, Bannon was a consultant for the Biosphere 2 project, an experiment in which eight people attempted to live for two years in a domed terrarium in Arizona. According to the Arizona Republic, Bannon was hired in 1993 to cut costs at the $200 million project. The paper reported, "Bannon advised ousting two managers and resigned as CEO when the parent company, Space Biosphere Ventures, rejected his recommendation. He was rehired in 1994 when his recommendations were adopted." After the firings, Bannon was sued by a former project director for sexual harassment. A former crew member also sued Bannon for making threatening remarks to her when she was part of the project. The Arizona Republic reported that Bannon admitted to calling the crew member a "bimbo" and "self-centered and deluded" as well as threatening to "ram [a policy memo] down her (expletive) throat."

Internet Gaming Entertainment

From 2005 to 2012, Bannon raised funds for and helped to direct the business growth of Internet Gaming Entertainment, a company in Hong Kong that sold virtual items of value in the online game World of Warcraft for real-world money, a practice known as gold farming. According to Joshua Green's book Devil's Bargain, Bannon was involved in securing investments in the company and in attempts to get the game's publishers to license the sale of such digital goods. The company eventually changed its name to Affinity Media, and Bannon became CEO. After customer pressured the game's publishers, accounts associated with Affinity Media were shut down and the company was sold at a discount.

Media career

Bannon's career in media began when he left Goldman Sachs to start Bannon & Co., where he also began producing films of his own. Bannon has written and produced a number of films, including Generation Zero, The Undefeated, and Occupy Unmasked.

Breitbart

Bannon was a close confidante of the late Andrew Breitbart and sat on the board of the news organization before Breitbart's death. The two met when Bannon premiered one of his films, In the Face of Evil, a documentary praising former President Ronald Reagan. Breitbart attended the premiere, and, as Bannon told Bloomberg, introduced himself to Bannon after the film was over. Bannon said, "We screened the film at a festival in Beverly Hills and out of the crowd comes this, like, bear who’s squeezing me like my head’s going to blow up and saying how we’ve gotta take back the culture." Bannon became the executive chairman of Breitbart News in 2012 after Breitbart's death and oversaw the expansion of the news organization.

The New York Times described the growth of Breitbart News and Bannon's role in the organization in 2016, writing, "Over the past decade, Mr. Bannon has built a small but potent media empire designed to directly challenge the country’s cultural and political elite, whom he sees as incorrigibly detached from working-class America and responsible for dismantling its backbone — an industrial economy that employed its families and the secure borders that protected them."

According to a September 2016 report in Politico, Bannon had a reputation for using inappropriate language and directing tirades at Breitbart employees while being generous in other instances. Building on interviews with dozens of former and current staffers, Politico reported:

“

At Breitbart, the former employees said, he would regularly order subordinates to write stories that supported his allies and tore down adversaries, such as conservative radio host Glenn Beck, and admonished them when their posts didn’t toe his line. But though Bannon would berate his employees using language more suited to his past in the Navy, former and current staffers, including three women currently at Breitbart, also described examples of his immense generosity, often in the form of monetary help for staffers in need.

”

Government Accountability Institute

In 2012, Bannon co-founded the Government Accountability Institute, a nonprofit think tank that aims to expose government corruption. Its president is Peter Schweizer, author of a number of books including Clinton Cash, published in 2015. The group investigates what they consider "crony capitalism." In 2015, Bloomberg described the GAI's approach to this type of investigative work: "GAI is set up more like a Hollywood movie studio than a think tank. The creative mind through which all its research flows and is disseminated belongs to a beaming young Floridian named Wynton Hall, a celebrity ghostwriter who’s penned 18 books, six of them New York Times best-sellers, including Trump’s Time to Get Tough."

Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

See also: Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

On August 17, 2016, Donald Trump's presidential campaign announced that Bannon had been hired as its new chief executive. Bannon took a leave of absence as chief executive at Breitbart to work with the Trump campaign. In an interview, Trump said of Bannon's hiring, "I want to win. ... That’s why I’m bringing on fantastic people who know how to win and love to win."

The New York Times reported that, given Bannon's status with the conservative news outlet Breitbart, his hiring "formally completed a merger between the most strident elements of the conservative news media and Mr. Trump’s campaign, which was incubated and fostered in their boisterous coverage of his rise." In an opinion piece for The Hill, Joseph Murray, a former campaign aide to Pat Buchanan, offered a different perspective, saying, "Bannon — through his work at Breitbart — and Trump are not dividing the Republican Party; they are exposing it. They are showing millions of voters that the Republican establishment feels more at home with [Democratic nominee] Hillary [Clinton] than it does with its grassroots voters. They are showing Americans that this is the first two party election held in the United States for quite some time."

Domestic violence report

On August 25, 2016, a little over one week after Bannon became CEO of Trump's campaign, Politico reported that Bannon had previously been involved in a domestic violence incident with his then-wife. The article reported on an alleged 1996 incident, saying, "Bannon’s then-wife claimed he pulled at her neck and wrist during an altercation over their finances, and an officer reported witnessing red marks on her neck and wrist to bolster her account. Bannon also reportedly smashed the phone when she tried to call the police." The case was dismissed in August 1996 after Bannon's wife was unable to be located for a court appearance.-->

Donald Trump presidential administration

See also: Donald Trump White House staff

Appointment as chief strategist, November 2016

After Trump was elected president in November 2016, multiple media outlets, including The New York Times, Politico, and CNN, reported that Bannon was being considered as Trump's White House chief of staff.

On November 13, 2016, Bannon was selected to serve as the chief strategist for Trump's presidential staff. At the same time as Bannon's hiring, Reince Priebus was hired as Trump's chief of staff. According to the news release from Trump, the two were hired to work "as equal partners to transform the federal government."

Tenure on National Security Council, January to April 2017

On January 29, 2017, Trump reorganized the National Security Council by elevating Bannon to a role on the principals committee, a top decision-making group concerning national security. The principals committee had not previously included political staff.

On April 5, 2017, Trump again reorganized the National Security Council, removing Bannon and expanding the role for National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.

Relationship with other Trump advisors

According to an April 2017 report in Vox, the politics of Bannon and Stephen Miller, Bannon's top deputy and Trump's chief speechwriter, initially clashed with Trump economic advisor Gary Cohn and senior advisor Jared Kushner. The site described Cohn and Kushner as the leaders of "an informal group of aides that has been pushing for the administration to take a more establishment-friendly turn." According to CNN, Bannon and these advisors clashed over disagreements about how involved the United States should be globally in terms of trade and military intervention.

Paris Climate Agreement withdrawal, June 2017

In June 2017, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, saying that the agreement was unfair to the United States, would reduce jobs, and would have little effect on global temperatures if fully implemented. According to multiple news outlets, the decision to withdraw from the agreement was driven by Bannon and EPA Director Scott Pruitt. Politico reported on Bannon's influence, writing that Bannon "argued in meetings with Trump and his team that the president would be breaking his campaign promise to “cancel” the agreement if he decided to remain. And he argued that the accord is a bad deal for the United States because other countries aren’t doing enough to curb their emissions."

Interview with The American Prospect, August 2017

On August 16, 2017, Bannon participated in an unsolicited interview with The American Prospect about trade policy with China, threats of nuclear war with North Korea, and the violence at protests surrounding the removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia:

• In the interview, Bannon suggested that he was working to force some members of the State Department out of their jobs because he did not consider them to be aggressive enough concerning Chinese trade. He said, "We’re at economic war with China. It’s in all their literature. They’re not shy about saying what they’re doing. ... And we have to be maniacally focused on that. If we continue to lose it, we're five years away, I think, ten years at the most, of hitting an inflection point from which we'll never be able to recover."
• Concerning North Korea and its increased test launches of missiles and threats of nuclear capabilities, Bannon said, "There’s no military solution [to North Korea’s nuclear threats], forget it. Until somebody solves the part of the equation that shows me that ten million people in Seoul don’t die in the first 30 minutes from conventional weapons, I don’t know what you’re talking about, there’s no military solution here, they got us."
• He went on to discuss the August 2017 violence by white supremacists and neo-Nazi organizations in Charlottesville, Virginia, saying, "Ethno-nationalism—it's losers. It's a fringe element. I think the media plays it up too much, and we gotta help crush it, you know, uh, help crush it more. These guys are a collection of clowns."

Resignation

On August 18, 2017, Bannon and White House chief of staff John Kelly agreed that Bannon would leave the administration. According to Politico, Bannon had submitted his resignation on August 8 and planned to return to Breitbart News. Breitbart confirmed that Bannon would resume the role of executive chairman.

Post-White House career

After leaving his position in the White House, Bannon returned to his role as chairman of Breitbart News. He also began working with candidates for office, appearing at events and endorsing candidates he saw as more supportive of Trump's legislative agenda.

Endorsement of Roy Moore

In September 2017, Bannon endorsed former Alabama Supreme Court justice Roy Moore (R) in the special election to fill the seat vacated when Jeff Sessions (R) became attorney general. Bannon's endorsement of Moore diverged from Trump's endorsement of Moore's opponent, Luther Strange (R). Bannon headlined a rally in support of Moore, telling the crowd, "We did not come here to defy Donald Trump. We came here to praise and honor him. ... For Mitch McConnell and Ward Baker and Karl Rove and Steven Law, all the instruments that try to destroy Judge Moore and his family, your day of reckoning is coming. But more important, for the donors who put up the money, the corporatists who put up the money, your day of reckoning is coming too."

Following Moore's defeat by Doug Jones (D) in the December 12, 2017, special election, Bannon identified Jones' get-out-the-vote efforts as a crucial factor: "I tell people every day — there’s no magic wand, you’re going to have to outwork people. If you get outworked, you’re going to lose. And, I gotta tell ya, their ability to get out votes, that’s what it comes down to."

Support for U.S. Senate challengers

According to Axios, in October 2017, Bannon began planning challenges to all incumbent Republican senators seeking re-election in 2018 with the exception of Ted Cruz (R-Texas). He and Great America PAC, a super PAC supportive of Trump's legislative agenda, also announced support for West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) in his bid to challenge Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), Montana state auditor Matt Rosendale (R) in his bid to challenge Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in her bid for the open seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).

In an October 2017 interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Bannon said, "We are declaring war on the Republican establishment that does not back the agenda that Donald Trump ran on. ... They have to understand something — just voting is not good enough. You have to have a sense of urgency. Nobody's safe. We're coming after all of them. And we're going to win."

Click here for a list of Bannon's endorsements in the 2018 U.S. Senate elections and other recent races.

Publication of excerpts from "Fire and Fury"

Excerpts from a book about the Trump White House that attribute quotes critical of Trump associates to Bannon were published on January 3, 2018. "The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor - with no lawyers. They didn't have any lawyers," Bannon is quoted in one excerpt as saying about a June 2016 meeting between Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and Trump's son Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort. "Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad sh-t, and I happen to think it's all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately."

Trump responded later the same day with a statement distancing himself from Bannon. "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency," the statement opened. "When he was fired [from the Trump administration], he not only lost his job, he lost his mind... Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue, whom he helped write phony books." Trump lawyer Charles Harder also sent Bannon a cease and desist letter alleging that he disclosed confidential information to book author Michael Wolff and defamed Trump and members of his inner circle.

Despite the president's response, Bannon indicated in subsequent radio appearances that he continued to support him. "The President of the United States is a great man," he said in response to a caller to Breitbart News Tonight, the SiriusXM radio show he was hosting, on January 3. "You know, I support him day in and day out." In an appearance on Breitbart radio on January 4, he said that "nothing will ever come between us and President Trump and his agenda" and that "we're tight on this agenda as we've ever been."

On January 7, 2018, Bannon released a statement explicitly expressing his support for Trump and Trump Jr. "Donald Trump, Jr. is both a patriot and a good man. He has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that has helped turn our country around," he said. "My support is also unwavering for the president and his agenda... I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr has diverted attention from the president's historical accomplishments in the first year of his presidency."

The implications of Bannon's rift with Trump resonated beyond his relationship with the president. "I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected," top Bannon funder Rebekah Mercer said in a statement formally severing ties with him. "My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements."

The Wall Street Journal reported on January 4, 2018, that Mercer and other members of the Breitbart board were also considering removing Bannon as the network's executive chairman. On January 9, 2018, Breitbart announced that Bannon had stepped down from his position at the network.

Some of the 2018 candidates who received Bannon's backing also distanced themselves from him in the wake of the book excerpts' release:

• Michael Grimm: "I strongly denounce the comments by Steve Bannon as quoted by Michael Wolff," New York U.S. House candidate Michael Grimm said in a statement. "They are baseless attacks against the President's family, beyond disturbing, and I fully support our Commander in Chief. I am running for Congress to help our President advance his Pro-America agenda which has and will continue to help the hard-working people here in Staten Island and Brooklyn."
• Patrick Morrisey: "Patrick Morrisey has been endorsed by many conservatives throughout West Virginia and America because of his strong conservative record," a spokeswoman for the West Virginia U.S. Senate candidate said. "Attorney General Morrisey does not support these attacks on President Trump and his family, and was proud to stand with President Trump in 2016 when they were both overwhelmingly elected in West Virginia and when he cast his vote for Trump in the Electoral College."
• Kevin Nicholson: Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson, who tweeted about his endorsements from the pro-Trump political action committee Great America PAC and Bannon in October 2017, said, "The endorsement that I received is actually from the Great America PAC, and guess who runs it: Ed Rollins, one of the architects of the Reagan revolution."
• Kelli Ward: A spokesman for Arizona U.S. Senate hopeful Kelli Ward, who was introduced by Bannon at her campaign kickoff event, declined to commit to another campaign appearance with him. "Steve Bannon is only one of many high-profile endorsements Dr. Ward has received," he said. "Her focus remains on winning this race, which she is in a great position to do, and then helping President Trump advance an America First agenda."

Testimony about alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election

Testimony before the U.S. House Intelligence Committee

The week of January 15, 2018, Bannon was called to testify before Congress about alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election. He appeared before a closed-door meeting of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee on January 16, 2018.

According to ranking committee member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Bannon refused to answer questions about the presidential transition period, his work for the White House, or conversations he may have had with Trump after leaving the administration in his appearance before the House committee. Committee chair Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) issued a subpoena to compel him to testify, but, after consulting with the White House, Bannon continued to decline to answer questions.

NBC News reported that committee members in both parties traced Bannon's refusal to answer questions to the White House. The outlet said the Trump administration did not officially invoke executive privilege to prevent Bannon from testifying but indicated it might do so at a later date.

Schiff described the White House's action as a gag rule. "The scope of this assertion of privilege, if that's what it is, is breathtaking. It goes well beyond anything we have seen in this investigation," he said. "If the White House is permitted to maintain that kind of a gag rule on a witness, no congressional investigation could ever be effective. So this obviously can't stand." Asked about the Trump administration's role in Bannon's refusal to answer questions, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "As with all congressional inquiries touching upon the White House, Congress must consult with the White House prior to obtaining confidential material. This is part of a judicially recognized process that goes back decades. We've been cooperating fully with these ongoing investigations and encourage the committees to work with us to find an appropriate accommodation in order to ensure Congress obtains information necessary to its legitimate interests."

The committee subpoenaed Bannon to appear again to answer outstanding questions. He returned on February 15, 2018, after three delays, but gave the committee a list of 25 questions and declined to answer any questions that were not on the list. The committee's Russia investigation head, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), said that he, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R), and a small group of others would determine whether to declare Bannon in contempt or take other steps to compel him to testify. Schiff said, "I think contempt is the only road open to us."

Interview with FBI special counsel

The week prior to his January 16, 2018, appearance before the House committee, Bannon was also subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury by Robert Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the FBI's investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election. The New York Times reported that Mueller issued the subpoena following the publication of excerpts from "Fire and Fury" earlier in the month.

On January 17, 2018, CNN reported that Bannon had arranged to be interviewed by prosecutors on Mueller's team rather than appearing before the grand jury. According to the outlet, Bannon's attorney said executive privilege would not apply to Bannon's communications with the special counsel so he would answer the prosecutors' questions.

Reuters reported on February 15, 2018, that Bannon had met with Mueller's team for a total of about 20 hours over two days earlier in the week. According to the outlet, the interviews included questions about the firing of then-FBI Director James Comey and interactions between the Russian ambassador, former national security advisor Michael Flynn, and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Bannon was more forthcoming with the FBI's investigators than he was with the House Intelligence Committee.

Noteworthy events

See also: Noteworthy criminal misconduct in American politics (2019-2020)

Indictment and pardon for conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering (2021)

On August 20, 2020, Bannon was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering related to an online fundraising campaign called "We Build the Wall." Three of his associates—Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato, and Timothy Shea—were also charged on the same counts.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said the four defendants allegedly conspired to use money from the fundraising campaign for personal profit. Strauss alleged, "While repeatedly assuring donors that Brian Kolfage, the founder and public face of We Build the Wall, would not be paid a cent, the defendants secretly schemed to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle."

The indictment said Kolfage took $350,000 in funds for personal use. It also said that Bannon, using a nonprofit organization under his control, funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the campaign for his personal expenses.

Bannon pleaded not guilty to both charges. He was pardoned by President Donald Trump (R) on January 20, 2021, four months before his scheduled trial date.

Conviction for contempt of Congress following refusal of January 6, 2021, House Select Committee subpoena

See also: Aftermath of the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol

On July 22, 2022, a federal jury convicted Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress for his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Bannon was sentenced to serve four months in prison. The charges stemmed from his refusal to appear for a deposition or provide documents to the committee. Bannon was indicted on these charges on Nov. 12, 2021. Judge Carl Nichols presided over the trial.

In November 2022, Bannon appealed the verdict. While the appeal was ongoing, Bannon's sentence was stayed. A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the lower court's ruling in May 2024. On June 6, 2024, Nichols ruled that Bannon had to report to prison on July 1, 2024.

The committee issued a subpoena to Bannon on Sept. 23. After his refusal to comply, the committee unanimously voted to hold Bannon in contempt on Oct. 19. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the charge 229-202 on Oct. 21.

Recent news

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External links

• Bannon profile at Breitbart News site
• Breitbart News site