Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon on Saturday continued to defend the actions that resulted in his prison sentence.
In an interview with NBC News, Bannon continued to assert that the Jan. 6 committee’s subpoenas “don’t mean anything” and reiterated arguments about executive privilege that have been rejected in courts.
The vocal ally of former President Donald Trump is set to report to prison by Monday to serve a four-month sentence for defying subpoenas to appear before Congress during the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Though Bannon was convicted in 2022, his sentence was put on hold while he sought to appeal the convictions. A last-ditch effort to appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected earlier this week, meaning Bannon has to report to prison by July 1.
When asked what his endgame is, Bannon told NBC News it was “victory or death of this republic.”
“If we don’t win the — first of all, they shred the Constitution. It is the death of the constitutional American republic we know,” he continued.
It’s a claim he made earlier this month during his speech at the conservative Turning Point USA conference.
“Ladies and gentleman, it’s very simple: victory or death!” Bannon said during his speech as the audience cheered.
Bannon’s prison sentence stems from being held in contempt of Congress after defying the Jan. 6 committee’s request for testimony and documents. White House records had shown that Bannon had multiple conversations with Trump on or immediately before Jan. 6.
He continued to reject a question from NBC News about the content of those conversations, calling them “personal and private” and pointing to executive privilege claims, which the Jan. 6 committee said would not prevent him from having to testify.
Bannon remains a staunch ally of the former president and continues to peddle false claims about 2020 election fraud.
Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro has remained behind bars since March on a four-month prison sentence. Navarro was convicted of the same charges as Bannon.
