Media personality Steve Bannon, who served as White House chief strategist for President-elect Donald Trump during his first term, told Newsweek on Saturday that he wanted Justice Amy Coney Barrett off the U.S. Supreme Court, calling her a "disgrace" for allowing Trump's Manhattan hush money case sentencing to proceed.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's transition team via email and the Supreme Court via online form for comment on Saturday.
Why It Matters
Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and sentenced. His sentencing hearing, in which Manhattan-based Judge Juan Merchan gave him an unconditional discharge, came less than two weeks before his inauguration.
In an attempt to halt his sentencing hearing, Trump's legal team appealed to the Supreme Court. However, in a 5-4 decision a day before the hearing, the Court decided to allow Trump's sentencing to proceed. Chief Justice John Roberts and Barrett, a Trump-appointee, broke with their fellow conservative-leaning justices to side with the Court's three liberal-leaning justices, which has sparked some backlash from Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) base.
What To Know
Bannon, a supporter of Trump's MAGA movement who hosts the War Room podcast, criticized Barrett and Roberts' decision to side with the Court's liberal-leaning justices in Thursday's decision during a phone call with Newsweek on Saturday afternoon.
"Barrett is a disgrace. A total disgrace," he said, calling her decision "outrageous."
When asked why he wanted Roberts and Barrett to halt Trump's sentencing, Bannon said, "Because it's a total sham. All you're doing is empowering this Banana Republic judges and courts to go after future presidents."
He called the reasoning behind Roberts and Barrett's decision "completely fallacious."
What Did the Supreme Court's Decision Say?
The Court wrote in a filing Thursday that it was denying Trump's application to halt the sentencing because "the alleged evidentiary violations at President-Elect Trump's state-court trial can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal."
"Second, the burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect's responsibilities is relatively insubstantial in light of the trial court's stated intent to impose a sentence of "unconditional discharge" after a brief virtual hearing," the order said.
Bannon Calls for Amy Coney Barrett to Step Down
Bannon, who served as the CEO of Trump's 2016 campaign as well as a White House adviser in his first administration, said that the "honorable thing" for Barrett to do is to "step down, take another job and open that slot up for President Trump to...appoint a true MAGA judge to the Supreme Court."
Bannon declined to suggest who should take Barrett's place if she were to step down. Barrett, a 52-year-old judge who only assumed office in October 2020, has not signaled any intent to retire from the bench.
Bannon Says Clarence Thomas Should Swear Trump In
Bannon also suggested that Justice Clarence Thomas should be the one to swear Trump into the presidency during his inauguration instead of Roberts, who has the role of swearing in presidents as the head of the Court.
When asked why Bannon thinks Thomas should swear Trump in, he said, "It's the Thomas Court. Justice Thomas is the lead intellectual in this court."
Details About the Hush Money Case
In May 2024, a New York jury found Trump, guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before his first presidential election in 2016. Daniels alleges she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he denies. Trump has maintained his innocence, claiming the case is politically motivated.
Trump's unconditional discharge means that he will not be punished with prison time, fines or community service. He will, however, have felonies on his criminal record, which changes some things for him moving forward such as his ability to own a gun.
What People Are Saying
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said that Trump's behavior and the "enduring damage" he'd caused to the reputation of the justice system would normally result in a heavy sentence. But prosecutors had to "be respectful of the office of the presidency."
"The American public has the right to a presidency unencumbered to pending legal matters...imposing this sentence ensures that," he said.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche, pushed back in response to the assistant DA's comments.
"I very, very much disagree with much of what the government just said about this case, about the legitimacy of what happened in this courtroom during this trial, and about President Trump's conduct fighting this case," Blanche said.
President-elect Donald Trump appeared by video from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, for the sentencing, where he addressed the court. He said: "I'm totally innocent. I did nothing wrong."
Trump claimed he was the victim of a "political witch hunt."
He added, "It was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and obviously, that didn't work."
"This has been a very terrible experience. I think it has been a tremendous setback for New York and the New York court system," Trump said.
What Happens Next
Roberts' is set to swear in Trump during his inauguration in Washington, D.C., on January 20.
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