Amid reports of Steve Bannon‘s release from prison, people are wondering who he is and why he was incarcerated. Among other things, Bannon served as part of Donald Trump‘s administration during Trump’s presidency, so there is curiosity about whether he will become involved in political activism again.
Here are the key details about Steve Bannon and his prison sentence.
Who is Steve Bannon?
Bannon is a former investment banker and media executive. After Trump took office, Bannon became the chief strategist in his administration.
Bannon served in the US Navy between 1977 and 1983 as an officer. After his military service ended, Bannon became an investment banker for Goldman Sachs. He assumed the post of acting director of Biosphere 2, an earth science research project in Oracle, Arizona, in 1993. He established Breitbart News, which he has referred to as “the platform for the alt-right,” in 2007 and was part of the board of Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm that went defunct in 2018. Bannon also served as an executive producer on several movies.
Bannon was part of Trump’s campaign for the 2016 US elections, serving as the chief executive officer. Following Trump’s win, Bannon served as the chief strategist and senior counselor to the President until he and the Trump administration parted ways in August 2016.
After leaving the White Houe, Bannon worked overseas. In 2018, Michael Wolff published his book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, in which he contributed several critical comments aimed at Trump’s children to Bannon. This reportedly hurt Trump and Bannon’s relationship.
Why did Steve Bannon go to prison?
Despite the purported estrangement, Trump pardoned Bannon on his last day in office in January 2021, after a federal grand jury indicted the latter and others for mail fraud and money laundering. However, Trump’s federal pardon did not impact the charges the US state of New York brought against Bannon, and that case is still ongoing.
In September 2021, the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack issued a subpoena against Bannon. His refusal to comply resulted in a federal grand jury indictment. In October 2022, Bannon was given a $6,500 fine and a four-month prison sentence, which he spent at a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, between July 1, and October 29, 2024.
