Link :https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/01/20/pardon-former-advisor-steve-bannon/?sh=12bc1491168d

President Donald Trump pardoned Steve Bannon on Wednesday morning, wiping away thecontroversial former strategist and campaign chief’s fraud charges on Trump’s last day in office — making Bannon the latest member of Trump’s 2016 campaign team to earn a presidential pardon.

KEY FACTS

SURPRISING FACT

Bannon pleaded not guilty last year, https://www.thedailybeast.com/steve-bannon-blames-arrest-on-attempt-to-stop-people-who-want-to-build-the-wall" aria-label="defiantly telling reporters" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">defiantly telling reporters his prosecution was designed “to stop people who want to build the wall.” Trump, for his part, was less impressed with Bannon’s fundraiser, which https://webuildthewall.us/" aria-label="cast itself" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">cast itself as a way of letting private citizens help out with one of Trump’s signature campaign promises. Shortly after Bannon’s arrest, the president https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/20/donald-trump-steve-bannon-arrest-399313" aria-label="derided" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">derided his former strategist’s efforts, telling reporters it was “done for showboating reasons.”

KEY BACKGROUND

A former executive at https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/steve-bannon-five-things-to-know" aria-label="far-right" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">far-right news site Breitbart, Bannon https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/08/17/trump-reshuffles-staff-in-his-own-image/" aria-label="took over" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">took over Trump’s 2016 campaign three months before the election, and he later served as the president’s chief strategist. Bannon https://www.vox.com/world/2017/8/23/16180032/breitbart-mcmaster-bannon-war" aria-label="feuded" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">feuded with more traditionally-minded White House advisors, and he drew near-constant controversy from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/14/donald-trump-steve-bannon-breitbart-news-alt-right-charlottesville" aria-label="critics" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">critics who say he stoked Trump’s populist and nationalist impulses. He left the White House just seven months after joining, and his rapport with Trump quickly eroded, ending with Trump https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-bannon-has-lost-his-mind-n834396" aria-label="writing" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">writing three years ago that Bannon had “lost his mind.” But Bannon has https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/28/steve-bannon-aim-to-re-enter-circle-trump-influencers-2020-election" aria-label="remained on the fringes" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">remained on the fringes of Trump’s orbit since then, starting a podcast in which he backs the president with bombastic and https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/11/05/steve-bannon-condemned-banned-from-twitter-after-suggesting-violence-as-a-warning-to-federal-bureaucrats/" aria-label="often inflammatory" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">often inflammatory zeal, and in recent months, he https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-14/trump-reconciles-with-ex-strategist-bannon-in-talks-on-election" aria-label="reportedly offered Trump advice" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">reportedly offered Trump advice on his failed efforts to overturn his election loss.

CHIEF CRITIC

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit watchdog group, blasted Trump’s decision to pardon Bannon hours before leaving office.

TANGENT

In addition to Bannon, Trump has pardoned several other 2016 campaign aides and surrogates in recent months. Former campaign chair Paul Manafort, advisor Roger Stone, staffer George Papadopoulos and National Security Advisor https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/how-michael-flynn-changed-trumps-campaign-and-his-presidency/" aria-label="Michael Flynn" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">Michael Flynn have all secured clemency from the president after https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/20/17031772/mueller-indictments-grand-jury" aria-label="facing charges" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 56, 145);cursor:pointer;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:none">facing charges connected with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling.

Link : https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/01/20/pardon-former-advisor-steve-bannon/?sh=12bc1491168d