Steve Bannon released from prison — just weeks before criminal fraud trial over Build The Wall scam

Bannon's freedom could be short-lived as he faces trial for allegedly scamming donors out of $15 million

By Marin Scotten

News Fellow

Published October 29, 2024 2:33PM (EDT)

A man holds a sign that reads "Lock Them Up" as Attorney Matthew Evan Corcoran (L) and Steve Bannon, former advisor to President Donald Trump, depart federal court on June 6, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
A man holds a sign that reads "Lock Them Up" as Attorney Matthew Evan Corcoran (L) and Steve Bannon, former advisor to President Donald Trump, depart federal court on June 6, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Right-wing podcast host and former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon was released from prison on Tuesday after serving a four-month sentence for refusing to cooperate with a House investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

Bannon, who was found guilty in July 2022 for Contempt of Congress, wasted no time getting back to his podcast, “War Room,” after he returned from Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut. 

He released a new episode Tuesday morning, slamming the Democratic agenda and falsely claiming that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sent him to prison to “to tamp down the power of this show and to break me.”

With just a week until the election, Bannon told his audience he has never felt stronger.

“Four months in federal prison didn’t break me. It empowered me. I’m more energized and more focused than I’ve been in my entire life,” he said on the show. 

When Bannon was sentenced to prison on July 1 after multiple unsuccessful attempts to delay his prison stint, the 70-year-old remained steadfast that he did nothing wrong and said he was proud to be a “political prisoner.” 

But Bannon’s freedom may be short-lived, as he is set to begin another trial on Dec. 9 in New York, this time for criminal fraud charges in his attempt to raise money for a privately built wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

He was charged in September 2022 for scamming donors into giving more than $15 million to support a venture called “We Build the Wall.” Bannon has not pleaded guilty to the charges.


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