MEGA
Reacting to Steve Bannon’s scheduled surrender to prison on Monday, State Attorney for Palm Beach County Dave Aronberg claimed the former Donald Trump advisor has “only himself to blame” for not being able to use his podcast to rally the former president’s supporters in the lead-up to the election.
Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Aronberg smirked while discussing Bannon’s unsuccessful attempts to avoid jail time. He pointed out that Bannon has effectively taken himself out of the political game as the November election approaches.
“First, when it comes to executive privilege, he said his lawyer, Robert Costello—remembered him from the election interference case.—said, ‘Yeah, you’ll have privilege,'” Aronberg explained. “First, Bannon didn’t qualify because he only worked in the White House for a few months. He hadn’t been in the White House for years by the time Jan. 6 happened.”
Aronberg continued, “Also, Trump’s attorney told Costello in writing that that defense wasn’t going to work because Trump was not going to invoke executive privilege for Bannon. Third, the courts ruled the advice of counsel defense doesn’t work in contempt cases like this.”
“So Bannon would have been better going straight to jail instead of dancing around the Monopoly board,” he remarked. “He and his podcast, as a result, will be on hiatus for the next four months, and he only has himself to blame for it.”
The New York Times Jeremy Peters then added, “Key communicator is the best way to describe his role in the conservative movement. After Rush Limbaugh died, no one really stepped into the void in talk radio, which is an important medium of communication for conservatives and Trump’s movement.”
“Bannon, arguably, more than anyone else in A.M. radio or the podcast world has filled Limbaugh’s role,” Peters elaborated. “He remains the chief messenger of Donald Trump’s vitriol, all of his grievances, all of these conspiracies about, you know, a deep state coming to get you. That’s what Bannon voices and he does it very effectively.”
As Bannon prepares to serve his prison term, his absence from the conservative media landscape is notable. With the November election nearing, his inability to influence the narrative through his podcast could have significant implications for the Trump movement and its supporters.
