Portrait of Steve Bannon
Politician · organisation
Wikipedia (opens in new tab)

Steve Bannon on FBI

Vocal critic of structure (strong)

TL;DR

Steve Bannon views the FBI as a captured institution requiring a massive purge to restore its fidelity to the executive branch's constitutional authority.

Key Points

  • He has suggested that former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe "should be worried" about accountability if his political allies return to power.

  • Bannon surrendered to the FBI in November 2021 after being indicted on criminal charges of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena.

  • He believes the FBI director reports to the President, who is the chief magistrate and chief law enforcement officer of the United States.

Summary

Steve Bannon, a political strategist and host of the War Room podcast, has expressed a strong conviction that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is part of the entrenched administrative state that must be dismantled or purged, particularly under a second Trump administration. He views the agency, along with the broader Justice Department, as having been weaponized against political opponents, referencing the historical context of what he terms a "judicial insurrection" during Watergate and the subsequent separation of the Attorney General's power from the President. Bannon asserts that the FBI director reports to the President as the chief executive and chief magistrate, and he advocates for assertive action to ensure the agency aligns with the President's lawful directives.

His position implies that the current structure fosters an anti-democratic, permanent government apparatus that ignores the will of the elected executive. Bannon has warned former FBI officials, such as Andrew McCabe, that they should be worried about accountability if his political allies gain power, stating that the "long arm of American justice is going to get you" even if they flee the country. His stated goal is to implement "accountability day" to purge these institutions of what he perceives as "criminals" and reset the relationship between the executive and the law enforcement agencies to reflect the unitary theory of the executive.

Key Quotes

Darkness is good: Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That's power. It only helps us when they get it wrong. When they're blind to who we are and what we're doing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Steve Bannon takes a strongly negative view of the FBI, considering it a core component of the "deep state" bureaucracy that must be reformed. He advocates for a massive purge of personnel within the agency and the Justice Department to ensure fidelity to the constitutional authority of the President as chief executive.

Bannon was personally compelled to surrender to the FBI in November 2021 after being criminally indicted for contempt of Congress. This followed his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the January 6th Committee, which he viewed as an overreach that did not respect executive checks and balances.

No, the strategist does not believe the FBI is impartial, viewing it as an apparatus that has been weaponized against political opposition, particularly the former president. He frames the agency's actions as part of a "judicial insurrection" against executive power, which he vows to reverse.