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Trump ally Steve Bannon loses fight to get out of prison 10 days early, but still won’t run

Posted on by L. Dreeye
Trump ally Steve Bannon loses fight to get out of prison 10 days early, but still won’t run

Rob Crilly is Chief U.S. Political Correspondent for Dailymail.Com in Washington, D.C.

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Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, learned Tuesday that he will not be released early after serving four months in prison.

He is scheduled to be released next week from a federal prison in Connecticut.

However, his lawyers filed a request saying he had accrued 10 days of First Step Act credits (under Trump-era criminal justice reform), which meant he was scheduled to be released to house arrest on Saturday.

“There is no reason for Mr. Bannon to remain in prison despite the fact that he earned these credits,” his lawyers said. “The court should grant Mr. Bannon’s motion and order his immediate release.”

Judge Carl Nichols, sitting in Washington, D.C., issued his decision on Tuesday, writing: “The Court finds that the relief sought by Defendant is not warranted.

“His proposal 193 is therefore REJECTED.”

Trump ally Steve Bannon loses fight to get out of prison 10 days early, but still won’t run

Trump ally Steve Bannon is nearing the end of a four-month prison sentence. Here he is seen performing outside Danbury Correctional Facility in July.

Bannon filed the motion after the Bureau of Prisons wrote to him Monday that his release date would remain Oct. 29, as originally set.

A radio host and political agitator accused the Bureau of Prisons of political interference.

In a statement condemning Kamala Harris for failing to properly implement the First Step Act, he linked the fate of incarcerated blacks and Latinos to his own cause.

“Harris played politics with people’s lives, and now she will pay for her arrogance – blacks and Latinos hate her and will never vote for her,” he said over the weekend.

“Without this critical vote, it is impossible for her to win Pennsylvania, Michigan or Georgia. The Harris Bureau of Prisons is keeping me in custody 10 days longer than required by law due to the same failure to comply with FSA requirements.”

He argued that he was entitled to home confinement because of a provision of the First Step Act affecting certain nonviolent first-time offenders.

On Monday, Bannon's legal team filed a motion asking for his release 10 days earlier.

On Monday, Bannon’s legal team filed a motion asking for his release 10 days earlier.

Bannon was Trump's chief White House strategist before losing a power struggle with the president's other advisers.

Bannon was Trump’s chief White House strategist before losing a power struggle with the president’s other advisers.

Bannon was convicted in 2022 of contempt of Congress and failure to appear before a House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building.

His appeal against the sentence is ongoing.

But his imprisonment prevents Trump from openly supporting his campaign on air, and Bannon has said it amounts to election interference.

He also still faces fraud charges in New York, where he is accused of defrauding donors to the “We Build the Wall” campaign to fund more of Trump’s barrier with Mexico.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges including money laundering, conspiracy and fraud.