U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz on Friday slammed the conviction and sentence of former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon as politically motivated.
Gaetz commented after Bannon was sentenced to four months in federal prison. The sentence followed Bannon’s conviction for defying a congressional subpoena related to the Democrats’ investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. He remains free pending an appeal.
Gaetz, who has been a close ally of Bannon’s and a frequent guest on his “War Room” podcast, denounced the case in a string of tweets issued Friday evening.
“The DOJ official that prosecuted Steve Bannon is a longtime Democrat activist. [Prosecutor] Matthew Graves was on the domestic policy committee for [Joe] Biden’s 2020 campaign, he helped the [John] Kerry campaign with VP [vice president] vetting, and worked advance for [Bill] Clinton’s re-election,” the Fort Walton Beach Republican noted.
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“That’s important context for what is a clear political prosecution against Bannon. Bannon will be the first person to go to prison for contempt of Congress in 51 years.”
Gaetz continued, “Graves sought the maximum sentence possible for contempt of Congress (6 months) because Bannon is a proud dissident.”
He then quoted the sentencing memorandum that Graves submitted to the judge: “The Defendant ridiculed through counsel this case as ‘a scam from the beginning’ [and] promised that he would make this case ‘the misdemeanor from hell for Merrick Garland, Nancy Pelosi, and Joe Biden,’…and warned that ‘we’re gonna go on the offense on this and stand by.'”
“The message is clear,” Gaetz added. “You’re not allowed to attack the Biden Regime.”
In circulating Gaetz’s comments, another Bannon ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, tweeted, “Proof that the prosecution of Steve Bannon is pure political persecution. Well, let’s make this message clear. We are going on the offense and we won’t have to create sham committees and make up evidence because the corruption & crimes are REAL. Justice is coming.”
While noting that Bannon deserved “no sympathy” for the outcome because the case was “clear-cut,” The Wall Street Journal noted in an editorial that such cases can only be taken seriously if the law is applied evenly.
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“If critics see the case against Mr. Bannon as an example of politicized law enforcement, one reason is that the Justice Department has a history of refusing to pursue contempt referrals by a GOP Congress,” the Journal said.
“In 2013, when Republicans were investigating IRS targeting of Tea Party groups, the House called Lois Lerner, who at the time was head of the agency’s Exempt Organizations office. Ms. Lerner came to the hearing, defended herself with an opening statement, and then took the Fifth and refused to answer questions.”
“In 2014 the House voted to hold Ms. Lerner in contempt, arguing that when she spoke out, she effectively waived her right to remain silent. Eleven months went by. Then the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia informed the House that, in his view, Ms. Lerner had made only ‘general claims of innocence’ that did not affect her Fifth Amendment rights. He therefore decided to shield Ms. Lerner from a grand jury,” the Journal added.
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