Bannon Behind Bars?

Update: Steve Bannon has been setenced to 4 months in prison. He will appeal.

The Department of Justice indicted Trump creature and fascist-fancier Steve Bannon for Contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena compelling his testimony before the January 6th Select Committee. He was convicted back in July. The DOJ has recommended that he receive a six-month prison sentence and a $200,000 fine.

Mr. Bannon dodged the slammer after his previous indictment — for money laundering and conspiracy in defrauding donors to a charity — when he was pardoned by then-president Trump as he was exiting the White House. Unindicted co-conspirator Trump himself was recently subpoenaed by that same Congressional Committee.

More:

“Steve Bannon: justice department urges six-month prison term in contempt case,” Sam Levine, The Guardian

“DOJ seeks 6-month prison sentence for Steve Bannon,” Erin Doherty, Axios

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Image (“Bannon Behind Bars”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Trump Springs Convicted Felon Roger Stone From Prison

Odious operative Roger Stone, convicted of 7 felony counts of perjury, obstruction, and witness tampering, has been spared a prison sentence by President Donald Trump in his latest abuse of executive power. After receiving the grant of clemency, Mr. Stone vowed to campaign for the president’s re-election, probably among his fellow reptiles in the Central Florida Herpetarium near his home.

More:

“Roger Stone remains a convicted felon, and rightly so,” Robert Mueller, Washington Post

“Trump’s clemency for Roger Stone also commuted his 2-year probation and $20,000 fine, order shows,” Kevin Breuninger, CNBC

“Trump Adds Roger Stone to His List of Pardons and Commutations,” Katie Rogers, Derrick Bryson Taylor and Heather Murphy, New York Times

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Blagojevich Jailbreak!

President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of one-time Celebrity Apprentice contestant and disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, the Chicago Democrat who tried to sell Barack Obama’s vacant senate seat after the 2004 election. Mr. Blagojevich was also convicted of shaking down a childrens’ hospital to try to get a $50,000 contribution from the hospital CEO, and extorting a $100,000 bribe from a racetrack owner. He was convicted of the schemes on the evidence of his phone calls, so the president can surely relate.

“Blago,” a devoted Elvis fan, had been scheduled to do the Jailhouse Rock until May 2024.

More:

“Who Is Rod Blagojevich? And Why Did President Trump Commute His Sentence?” Monica Davey and Mitch Smith, New York Times

“The Rod Blagojevich scandal and Trump’s commutation of his sentence, explained,” Andrew Prokop, Vox

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Altar Boy, US Marine, FBI Agent, Lawyer, GOP Congressman, Felon.

Former altar boy Michael Grimm, US Marine veteran, ex-FBI Agent, lawyer, thug, restaurateur, and former Republican Congressman from Staten Island, has been sentenced to 8 months in federal prison for tax fraud. He will be missed by his Mom and Sebastian, his Yorkshire terrier.

More:

“The Appalling Career of Michael Grimm,” Evan Ratliff, The New Yorker

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Private Investor Improves Basic Infrastructure in Mexico

Wealthy private investor Joaquin Guzmán has bankrolled a new tunnel in the Santa Juana neighborhood of Almoloya de Juárez, Mexico, 16 miles from Toluca. The tunnel, 5 1/2 feet in diameter, stretches about a mile from the Centro Federal de Readaptación Social No. 1 “Altiplano,” a government facility, to an unfinished house surrounded by cornfields, perhaps slated for future development. It is estimated that the sophisticated underground structure cost $5 million to complete.

More information:

“Mexico drug lord Guzman’s escape tunnel is a minor engineering masterpiece,” Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times

“How Mexico’s Most-Wanted Drug Lord Escaped From Prison (Again),” Larry Buchanan, Josh Keller, and Derek Watkins, New York Times

“Undermining Mexico: How ‘El Chapo’ built a criminal empire — and escaped prison — by digging deep.” Nick Miroff, Washington Post

“How a Mexican drug kingpin’s daring prison escape made him a hip-hop icon & an outlaw hero,” Matthew Pulver, Salon

Update:

“Underworld: How the Sinaloa drug cartel digs its tunnels,” Monte Reel, The New Yorker