By DAVE COLLINS
Longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon was released from prison early Tuesday, after serving a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
Bannon left the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, according to Kristie Breshears, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons. He planned to hold a news conference later in the day in Manhattan to discuss his time behind bars.
Bannon also returned to his podcast and online show Tuesday morning, saying he was focused on helping Trump win the presidential election. He bashed Democrats and their agenda, asserting that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent him to prison to silence his voice — despite a jury having convicted him and a judge having sentenced him.
“The four months in federal prison not only didn’t break me, it empowered me,” Bannon said. “I am more energized and more focused than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
Bannon, 70, reported to the prison July 1 after the Supreme Court rejected his bid to delay the prison sentence while he appeals his conviction.
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A jury found Bannon guilty in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition with the Jan. 6 House Committee and a second for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race.
When he began serving his sentence in July, Bannon called himself a “political prisoner.”
“I am proud of going to prison,” he said at the time, adding that he was standing up to Attorney General Merrick Garland and a “corrupt” Justice Department.
Trump, a Republican, is seeking to regain the presidency in next week’s election against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
A federal appeals court panel upheld Bannon’s convictions in May. Bannon is now asking the full appeals court to hear his case. His legal team had argued that the congressional subpoena was invalid because Trump had asserted executive privilege. Prosecutors, though, say Bannon had left the White House years before and Trump had never invoked executive privilege in front of the committee.
Bannon faces additional criminal charges in New York state court, alleging he duped donors who gave money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges. A trial in that case is scheduled to begin in December.
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