Media personality Steve Bannon, who served as White House chief strategist during Donald Trump’s first term, told Newsweek on Saturday that he wanted Justice Amy Coney Barrett removed from the U.S. Supreme Court, calling her a "disgrace" for allowing Trump's Manhattan hush money case sentencing to proceed.
Trump, the first former president to be convicted of a crime and sentenced, received an unconditional discharge from Manhattan-based Judge Juan Merchan less than two weeks before his inauguration. The sentencing followed a jury's May 2024 decision finding Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump denies the allegations and claims the case is politically motivated.
In a last-ditch effort to halt the sentencing, Trump's legal team appealed to the Supreme Court. However, in a 5-4 decision a day before the hearing, the Court allowed the sentencing to proceed. Chief Justice John Roberts and Barrett, both appointed by Trump, sided with the Court’s three liberal justices, drawing backlash from Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters.
Bannon, a prominent MAGA advocate and host of the "War Room" podcast, criticized Barrett and Roberts for their decision during a phone interview with Newsweek.
"Barrett is a disgrace. A total disgrace," Bannon said, calling her decision "outrageous." He argued the decision undermines future presidents by empowering what he described as a "Banana Republic" judiciary. Bannon also labeled the Court’s reasoning as "completely fallacious."
The Court’s Thursday order stated it denied 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." Additionally, it noted the "relatively insubstantial" burden imposed on Trump’s responsibilities, given the trial court’s intention to impose an unconditional discharge.
Bannon called on Barrett to resign, suggesting she "step down, take another job, and open that slot up for President Trump to appoint a true MAGA judge to the Supreme Court." Barrett, who joined the bench in October 2020, has not indicated any plans to retire.
Bannon also proposed that Justice Clarence Thomas, rather than Roberts, should swear Trump in during the inauguration. “It’s the Thomas Court,” Bannon said. “Justice Thomas is the lead intellectual in this court.”
Trump’s unconditional discharge means he will not face prison time, fines, or community service, but he now has felonies on his criminal record, impacting certain rights, such as firearm ownership. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said that Trump’s actions and their damage to the justice system’s reputation would typically warrant a heavy sentence. However, prosecutors sought to respect the presidency.
During the sentencing, Trump appeared via video from Mar-a-Lago, declaring his innocence and denouncing the case as a "political witch hunt." He stated, “This was done to damage my reputation so that I would lose the election, and obviously, that didn’t work.” He described the trial as a "tremendous setback" for New York and its court system.
Chief Justice Roberts is set to swear Trump in during his inauguration in Washington, D.C., on January 20.
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