Biography
Steve Bannon is a media executive and political strategist. He served as executive chairman of Breitbart News, joined Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, held the post of White House chief strategist in 2017, and has since produced the War Room podcast.
Breitbart and the 2016 Campaign
Bannon led Breitbart News as executive chairman, stepping away in August 2016 to run Trump’s presidential campaign and returning to the outlet after the election. He left Breitbart in 2018. During his White House tenure in 2017 he held the title of chief strategist.
Claims that Bannon personally designed a data-driven targeting operation for the 2016 campaign are common but are not established by any source this page relies on, and are not asserted here.
We Build the Wall Charges and Pardon
In August 2020 federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged Bannon in connection with the “We Build the Wall” online fundraising campaign. The case did not reach trial: on January 20, 2021, the White House announced that President Trump had “granted a full pardon to Stephen Bannon,” describing the matter as “charges related to fraud stemming from his involvement in a political project.”
Contempt of Congress
On November 12, 2021, a grand jury indicted Bannon on two counts of violating 2 U.S.C. § 192 after he refused to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol — one count for refusing to appear for a deposition, one for refusing to produce documents. He had told the Committee, through counsel, that Trump intended to invoke executive privilege; the Committee responded that it had received no such assertion and that one would not justify total noncompliance in any case.
Following a five-day trial, a jury found him guilty on both counts on July 22, 2022. The district court imposed four months’ incarceration on each count, to run concurrently, with a $6,500 fine, and stayed the sentence pending appeal. The D.C. Circuit affirmed the convictions on May 10, 2024, ending the stay.
War Room
Bannon produces and hosts War Room, a podcast and streaming programme distributed across podcast platforms and video services after removals from several mainstream ones. The show is a case study in the alternative-distribution pattern this site tracks: a political programme that operates outside the podcast and video platforms with the largest reach, and builds audience through the ones that will carry it. No independently audited listenership figures for it are published.
Sources
- 01.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. United States v. Stephen Bannon, 101 F.4th 16 (D.C. Cir. 2024), No. 22-3086. (2024). Opinion of May 10, 2024 affirming the conviction. Source for the November 12, 2021 grand jury indictment on two counts of violating 2 U.S.C. § 192, the subpoena history with the House Select Committee, the July 22, 2022 jury verdict following a five-day trial, and the sentence: 'The district court sentenced Bannon to four months' incarceration for each count to run concurrently, with a $6,500 fine. The district court stayed Bannon's sentence pending this appeal.'
- 02.
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia. Stephen K. Bannon Found Guilty by Jury of Two Counts of Contempt of Congress. (2022). Press release of July 22, 2022 describing the two counts — refusal to appear for a deposition and refusal to produce documents — under a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. justice.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated clients; the text was confirmed through the archived capture.
- 03.
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. Leaders Of 'We Build The Wall' Online Fundraising Campaign Charged With Defrauding Hundreds Of Thousands Of Donors. (2020). Press release of Thursday, August 20, 2020 announcing the unsealing of an indictment charging Brian Kolfage, Stephen Bannon, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea in connection with the 'We Build the Wall' crowdfunding campaign, which 'raised more than $25 million,' and stating that the defendants were arrested that morning. justice.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated clients; the text was confirmed through the archived capture.
- 04.
The White House (Trump administration archive). Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency. (2021). Statement of January 20, 2021: 'Stephen K. Bannon – President Trump granted a full pardon to Stephen Bannon. Prosecutors pursued Mr. Bannon with charges related to fraud stemming from his involvement in a political project.' Source for the pardon and its date.