Steve Bannon called the charges leveled against him and his three associates a “political hit job.”
Bannon, who pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that he allegedly defrauded donors in a $25 million “We Build the Wall” scam along with three associates, addressed the case during an episode of his podcast War Room.
“I am not going to back down. This is a political hit job. Everybody knows I love a fight, and I was called ‘honey badger’ for many years. You know, the honey badger doesn’t give a … So I’m in this for the long haul. I’m in this for the fight. I’m going to continue to fight,” Bannon said.
“This was to stop and intimidate people that want to talk about the wall. This is to intimidate people that have President Trump’s back on building the wall,” he said, later adding, “The wall has to be built. This political hit job is to try to stop and intimidate people about not just building the wall, but what sovereignty means.”
Bannon, 66, was the former head of Breitbart News Network and was the CEO of Trump’s presidential campaign before serving as a chief strategist in the White House. He left that role in August 2017.
Trump distanced himself from Bannon after his former adviser was arrested. “When I read about it, I didn’t like it. I said, ‘This is for government; this isn’t for private people.’ And it sounded to me like showboating,” he said during a news conference.
“This stuff is complete nonsense,” Bannon said on his podcast. “I am not going to back down one inch. People who know me know I’m a fighter. That’s why yesterday I walked out and, you know, wanted to let people know I’m in this for the fight.”
