Madeline Peltz: “Steve Bannon would rather go to prison than tell the truth”
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
Moments ago, Steve Bannon, former Trump adviser, host of the War Room: Pandemic podcast, and Media Matters’ 2021 Misinformer of the Year, was sentenced to 4 months in prison for his criminal contempt of Congress case relating to the House select committee's investigation into the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
In reaction to the sentencing, Madeline Peltz, Deputy Director of Rapid Response at Media Matters for America, a leading expert on Steve Bannon who has been monitoring Bannon’s podcast daily since it launched in 2020, released the follow statement:
Steve Bannon would rather go to prison than tell the truth. After being given ample opportunities to share the truth about his role in the insurrection with the American people, he refused to do so.
Up until the last minute, Bannon tried to weasel his way out of punishment and showed us that he’s willing to do anything to protect and enrich himself. Now he’s reaping the consequences of his cowardice.
Bannon has weaponized his audience time and time again and continues to push the same conspiracy theories that fueled an attempted coup of the U.S. government.
Bannon still denies 2020 election results and is at the center of right-wing efforts to place QAnon and other conspiracy theorists at critical choke points of American democracy — from his “precinct project” to poll workers and observers to school board members to the secretary of state level.
Though Bannon was held responsible for his contempt today, the threat of Bannon’s burn-it-all-down approach continues to drive the Republican Party’s descent into full-blown fascism.”
Madeline has been monitoring Steve Bannon’s media appearances for more than two years. You can read her in-depth reporting on Steve Bannon’s direct role in fomenting the January 6 insurrection on War Room: Pandemic here.