WhenĀ former Donald Trump adviser Steve BannonĀ goes to prison, he wonāt be serving time at whatās known as a āClub Fed,ā the most comfortable type of facility in the federal system, as he had wanted,Ā according to people familiar with the arrangements.
Instead of a minimum-security prison camp, whereĀ many nonviolent offendersĀ serve their time,Ā Bannon ā now a right-wing podcaster with a following of loyal Trump supporters ā is set to reportĀ next monthĀ to the low-security federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, one of the sources told CNN.
A federal judge ruled recentlyĀ thatĀ Bannon must turn himself in by July 1Ā to begin servingĀ a four-monthĀ sentenceĀ for contempt of Congress even as he appeals the case. His attorneys initially thought he may be able to do his time at a camp, the sources said.
ButĀ Bannon isnāt eligible for the lowest-level prison setup because he still has a pending criminal case against him in New York,Ā where he is fighting the charges and set to go to trial in September. That case accuses him of defrauding donors in a fundraising effort branded the āWe Build the WallāĀ campaign for a border wallĀ between the US and Mexico.
. . . It doesnāt have cells, and instead houses its inmates in open pods. Yet it does have a noticeable barrierĀ āĀ referred to colloquially as āthe wallāĀ āĀ betweenĀ the prisonĀ facilityĀ and the outside world, which prison camps donāt have.
More than 1,000 male prisoners are in the Danbury facility. ItsĀ much smallerĀ adjacent prison camp for women was immortalized inĀ a formerĀ prisonerās memoir that inspired the TV show āOrange is the New Black.ā
. . . BannonĀ spoke at a conservative gathering in Detroit this weekend where Trump also spoke. Bannon vowedĀ that Trumpās political opponents and federal law enforcement authoritiesĀ would face blowbackĀ if Trump wins a second term as president.
āYou are going to be investigated, prosecuted and incarcerated,ā Bannon said.
And Boris Epshteyn, one of the most influential legal advisers around Trump currently,Ā hasĀ been part of Bannonās legal defense strategy, according to multiple sources familiar with theĀ matter.
āTake my wife, please!ā