Reuters
- Former President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial is set to begin on February 8.
- Steve Bannon has described the Democrat’s case as ‘emotional’ and ‘compelling.’
- The former chief strategist told Politico that Democrats will try to ‘smear’ the former president.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
Steve Bannon, the former President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, believes that the upcoming Senate trial could be bad news for his old boss.
“The Democrats have a very emotional and compelling case,” Bannon, a preeminent ideologue of the US far-right, told Politico.
It is unlikely that Senate will convict Trump. It would require a two-thirds majority, which has not ever happened before.
But, in Bannon’s eyes, the court of public opinion might not acquit him for the deadly insurrection on January 6.
“They’re going to try and convict him in the eyes of the American people and smear him forever,” Bannon told Politico.
Read more: Josh Barro on why President Trump should be impeached.
Trump's Senate impeachment trial is scheduled to begin on February 8.
The former president is accused of "incitement of insurrection" over his role in stirring up a mob to storm the US Capitol building.
While the impeachment trial's main focus will be on the insurrection, Bannon has suggested that Trump's legal team should instead pivot to discussing unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud.
"He is not going to be convicted, so we must address November 3. The best place to adjudicate this is the well of the US Senate," Bannon told Politico.
"It has to be dramatic. It has to be big. It has to be the big lie versus the big steal," he added.
Presenting these arguments will fall upon Trump's lawyers.
Trump has rejected a request from House impeachment managers to testify under oath during the trial.
Bannon could be facing legal woes of his own. He is under investigation in New York for a fund-raising scheme that allegedly defrauded people who had donated towards the building of Trump's border wall between the US and Mexico, according to reports.