Steve Bannon is one of these people who considers himself the smartest guy in the room. Any room. That’s his fatal flaw, much as narcissism is the fatal flaw of Bannon’s partner in crime, Donald Trump.
Bannon is on his way Thursday morning to turn himself into the Manhattan D.A.’s office. It goes without saying that he is politicizing the situation up one side and down the other.
There are two issues here: the public, political narrative, which Bannon is convinced he’s in control of and the plain fact of the matter that this is, in the words of a lawyer you’re about to hear, “a straightforward fraud case.” This is about theft for taking peoples’ money for Build the Wall. It’s not some obscure legal doctrine being tried here, it’s just plain theft.
The lawyer said at the end quite decisively, “Steve Bannon is going to jail.” I wonder if they will let him podcast from there? Or if he thinks that the State of New York will let him do so?
He doesn’t seem to be all that in touch with his circumstances and maybe it’s because, like Trump, he has managed to avoid consequences for so long now that he thinks he’s bulletproof. Could be. One unfortunate side effect of living in a bubble for a prolonged period of time is that a person loses touch with reality.
A couple of things to bear in mind: Bannon is going to be sentenced soon for his contempt of congress conviction. He blustered his way through that trial as well, and his lawyer stood in the street afterwards loudly declaiming how Bannon was going to beat the rap. Hasn’t happened so far. Secondly, this is state court. Trump’s 11th hour pardon of Bannon is bupkis here.
Time to pay the piper.
Let’s hope. He, Flynn and the rest of them pushing for the collapse of American Democracy should have been jailed and muzzled long before now. How they are free and allowed to advocate treason is shocking and dangerous.
But wait, doesn’t he have a right to select either a trial by Judge and Jury, or simply by Judge alone? Now what’s the possibility that the Judge selected is a Trump Appointee? That’s the reason you have that little crap head Brandon running around free? There’s no justice anymore in the US. One of the Proud Boys just got sentenced last week, quite a rip as well he should have. He got 10 years, Trump got a tee off time,……same day.
#LockHimUp !
LOL
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LOL …sad but true ..
Watching Bannon being taken into the Courthouse this morning, his mouth never stops flappin!!! I hope they put him away for a very very very long time!!!
About fucking time!
I’m reminded of a Tong warlord in late 19th Century San Francisco. Dude became powerful enough to hire white bodyguards (which, trust me, almost NEVER happened for a Chinese crime figure of that period). Then he started believing his own myth, enough so that he stopped the steel helmet and chainmail that had been keeping him alive through several assasination attempts. Do I even need to say the predictable happened when he showed up at his barber’s one day?
THAT’S Steve Bannon, only his mistakes are less lethal, which is why he keeps making them.
There’s something important to remember with Bannon and sentencing. He’s already facing sentencing for conviction on two counts of Contempt of Congress. Whatever time he might be sentenced to won’t be enough, at least for me and I’m sure lots of others. Federal Sentencing Guidelines are complicated and onerous to wade through but I’ll narrow it down to the part about factors that influence a less than maximum sentence and factors that influence a sentence towards if not to the maximum. One key aspect we’ve become familiar with (thanks to Trump’s people) is the “not having any prior convictions” or even arrests (which since an arrest isn’t a conviction and legally has almost no weight in this) strongly influences sentence recommendations downwards, especially in “non violent” crimes.
However, one of the last thing Trump did on the way out the WH door was issue Bannon a pardon. Guess what? With not one but TWO SCOTUS precedents regarding pardons Bannon might have stayed free and like Manafort even had confiscation of assets stopped (s.o.l. on what was already taken as I understand it) BUT, and this is key when it comes to sentencing for his Contempt of Congress or any state charges (say in New York) guess what? He’s got a federal conviction on his record! NO downward mitigation of sentence for being a “first time offender.” According to no less than SCOTUS acceptance of a pardon carries with it acceptance of having committed the crime(s) for which one was pardoned. In one of the SCOTUS case that establishes the precedent the dude involved wound up being executed. But the bottom line is that Bannon doesn’t go into his upcoming sentencing with a “before this no convictions” record. He’s forfeited that particular card.
As I said whatever sentence handed down even if it includes jail/prison time won’t be enough for me. But let’s look forward to a STATE conviction up in New York where they appear to have him dead to rights. Should he be convicted there, he will have THREE, count em THREE convictions on his record. His only hope of avoiding a lengthy stretch in one of those not so lovely spots (wouldn’t Attica be a great choice?) would be getting lucky like Kyle Rittenhouse and having a judge who openly is on his side. And about to retire.
Bannon is in a world of shit these days. In a leaking raft and without a paddle. It doesn’t matter how many shirts (or pairs of pants) he wears, he’s gonna be covered in shit.
I do expect affluenza to have some bearing on his treatment/sentence. The only good thing is that it will be one more example of two sets of laws for the citizens of this country. Eventually, I would hope, the people would get sick of that little fact and do something in their best interests. Then again, people have been voting for ‘pubes for better than 40 years and that has meant anything but their best interests.
Tantrumthinskins supporters, the ones that SHOULD know who he really is, like certain judges & the Jeanine Pirros, Ginny Thomas’….I’m flabbergasted that they want ANYTHING to do with that ass. Why are THEY desperate to support him? What are THEY getting from him that they wouldn’t get from a different GOPer? Well, I get why Ginny Thomas is all in b/c no one other than someone pathologically insecure like him is going to let her near the WH. Why are they so determined to NOT see who he is?
As for MAGA voters. They wouldn’t know their best interests if it bludgeoned them over the head. I suppose they refuse to vote in their own best interests b/c to do so will also help the non whites, the non male heteros, the non cis gendered and they’d rather their own children be starving in the streets than helping one of those ‘others’.
We can hope .
Any people who believe they can be both ignorant & free, believe in something that never was, and never will be. Thomas Jefferson
Gannon isn’t even the smartest guy in a room filled with Trump.supporters,,which says a lot
oh, he has brains. but he is and has been a nihilist for decades. he wants to tear down the entire Western culture and government systems.
Who will be the next rube to jump on a grenade for Trump and his lunacy?