Steve Bannon Convicted - What's next?

Guilty

Hi — So here’s some breaking news that arrived heading into the weekend:

Trump aide Steve Bannon was convicted

It’s a big development, so I’m sharing a few points on that news in this “extra” newsletter entry… As always, thanks for reading and if you want to get all the entries, you can become a full subscriber here:

Mandatory Jail Time

Bannon was convicted under a law that carries a mandatory minimum. So even if a judge is lenient at sentencing — which happens more often to defendants like Bannon than poor and Black and Brown defendants — Bannon will inevitably go behind bars under this verdict. (The only exception would be if the conviction itself were overturned, which is a very high bar.) That’s big, and may impact how other witnesses evaluate defying these probes.

A court sketch of Steve Bannon. c/o Bill Hennessy

• This is also the first Trump aide convicted in connection with any January 6 probe.

• And it’s the first witness convicted for defying it.

So the verdict sets precedents that go beyond Bannon.

Here is our breaking coverage of the story on The Beat:

Do the Crime, Do The Time

Now, how much jail time is Bannon actually likely to get?

That gets into more technical legal details, and former prosecutor Joyce Vance walks through all of it in our interview if you’re interested in that:

Next

After his conviction Friday, Bannon went on Tucker Carlson’s Fox program to complain about the process. But public advocacy does not change the court outcome. (And he has every right to speak in public.)

The other Trump aide indicted for defying this probe, Peter Navarro, took a similar media tour. He awaits trial by the same prosecutors who won the verdict against Bannon, and may be assessing his odds in that case and whether to change course. My newsletter essay about that case is below.

Do you think Bannon should get the minimum, maximum, or something in between?

Trump aide Peter Navarro indicted, vows retribution