Steve Bannon, the podcaster far-right and former advisor to Donald Trump, will be released from federal prison next Tuesday, October 29, despite repeated attempts that he and his legal defense team have made to have him released sooner, according to CNN.
The Department of Corrections said in a letter to Bannon on Monday that his release date will remain October 29 as originally set: that means he will serve his full 120-day sentence behind bars for contempt of Congress for the events of the January 6, 2021.
Since learning that he could apply for home confinement, Bannon has accused the Department of Corrections of “political interference,” and his attorneys have argued both in court and with prison officials for a measure of clemency.
The acting director of the low-security Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, wrote to Bannon’s lawyers on Monday that there was not enough time to arrange for Bannon’s transfer to home confinement in Washington, DC, CNN reports.
Home confinement was a possibility for the former top White House adviser because of a provision for some federal criminals under the Trump-era First Step Act.
“Mr. Reentry, which oversees the release of its client, informed the Residential Reentry Centers, which oversee home confinement placements, that they do not accept placements of less than 30 days.”
Bannon was convicted in 2022 for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House Committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. His appeal of the conviction is ongoing.
While incarcerated at FCI Danbury, Bannon initially worked in the library as an orderly, making sure books were stored properly, according to his prison counselor, Sam Mangel. Shortly after beginning his sentence, Bannon went on to teach government history and civics to other inmates, Mangel added.
His release from prison will occur at a critical moment, one week before the elections.
The longtime Trump ally is a strong supporter of the former president’s re-election bid. Your popular podcast War Room has continued to air without him during his time in prison, and Bannon is likely to re-emerge as a voice of incendiary political rhetoric ahead of November’s presidential election.
Bannon continues to face criminal fraud charges in New York, which he is fighting. He is accused of defrauding donors in a fundraising campaign called “We Build the Wall,” for a wall between the United States and Mexico.
Bannon pleaded not guilty in 2022 to state charges including money laundering, conspiracy and fraud. The trial is scheduled for December.
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