Steve Bannon has stepped down as executive chairman of Breitbart News Network. The move comes days after President Donald Trump lashed out at Bannon for comments made in Michael Wolff’s new book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” (Published Tuesday, Jan 9, 2018)

Steve Bannon has stepped down as executive chairman of Breitbart News Network. The move comes days after President Donald Trump lashed out at Bannon... See More </s> Bannon leaves Breitbart. Steve Bannon has stepped down from Breitbart News, where he was executive chairman, the company has announced. Bannon was forced out amid the furore over comments he allegedly made about US President Donald Trump’s mental fitness that were published in Fire and Fury, a book by Michael Wolff. The New York Times reports Bannon’s departure was forced by Rebekah Mercer, a one-time financial patron. Bannon had worked with the Trump election campaign, and then as chief strategist in the administration, before he was sacked. In a statement published on Breitbart, the company said it would work with Bannon on a “smooth transition”. More on Fire and Fury’s grand claims here. </s> Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to President Trump, has stepped down from Breitbart, the far-right website he returned to over the summer as executive chairman after being ousted from the White House.

The website announced the news Tuesday afternoon in a short article posted to the site.

“I’m proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform,” Bannon is quoted as saying in the article.

Neither Bannon nor a spokesperson for Breitbart immediately responded to a request for comment.

Bannon drew the ire of the White House last week when The Guardian revealed that author Michael Wolff quoted him in his book “Fire and Fury” as saying a Trump Tower meeting involving Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and a Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign was “unpatriotic” and perhaps “treasonous.”

Trump responded at the time by slamming Bannon in a fiery statement, saying Bannon had “lost his mind.” </s> NEW YORK, United States — US President Donald Trump’s former White House strategist Steve Bannon has stepped down from Breitbart News, the conservative news outlet announced Tuesday, amid controversy over his incendiary comments about the president quoted in a new book.

The reported remarks used in “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” — an explosive behind-the-scenes account that questions the president’s fitness for office — have led to a very public split with Trump.

Bannon has been abandoned by financial patrons, condemned by erstwhile political allies and ridiculed by Trump himself over his comments, which he has not denied making but has since tried to walk back.

“I’m proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform,” Bannon said in a statement carried on Breitbart’s website.

“Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions, and what he has helped us to accomplish,” Breitbart CEO Larry Solov said.

Bannon and Breitbart will work together on a smooth and orderly transition, the news site added.

Bannon had served as Breitbart’s executive chairman since 2012. During his time at the White House, he took a leave of absence from his duties with the news outlet. </s> Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to President Trump, has stepped down from Breitbart, the far-right website he returned to over the summer as executive chairman after being ousted from the White House.

The website announced the news Tuesday afternoon in a short article posted to the site.

"I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform," Bannon is quoted as saying in the article.

Neither Bannon nor a spokesperson for Breitbart immediately responded to a request for comment.

Addressing staffers in the company's internal Slack channels, Breitbart CEO Larry Solov wrote, "Steve Bannon has decided to step down from Breitbart News Network. Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions, and what he helped us to accomplish. ... We will continue doing what we do as well as anybody in the world, and that is report the news."

A Breitbart employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, told CNN that "everyone seems stunned."

Bannon took over at Breitbart after founder Andrew Breitbart passed away suddenly in 2012. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Bannon has worked as an investment banker and dabbled in the film industry. But he really rose to public prominence when Trump named him CEO of his campaign in the summer of 2016. From there, he followed Trump to the White House, serving as chief strategist for much of 2017 before being ousted and returning to Breitbart.

But Bannon drew the ire of the White House last week when The Guardian revealed that author Michael Wolff quoted him in his book "Fire and Fury" as saying a Trump Tower meeting involving Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and a Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign was "unpatriotic" and perhaps "treasonous."

Trump responded at the time by slamming him in a fiery statement, saying Bannon had "lost his mind."

Bannon's comments also threw his future at Breitbart into question.

A person familiar with the matter told CNN last week that there was a "hard push" to convince Solov and Susie Breitbart, the widow of the website's founder, to fire Bannon.

The Wall Street Journal separately reported that Breitbart's board members were debating whether or not to oust Bannon, and last Thursday afternoon Rebekah Mercer, the conservative mega-donor who owns a stake in Breitbart, publicly rebuked Bannon in a rare public statement.

"I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected," Mercer said in the statement, which was provided to The Washington Post. "My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements." </s> WASHINGTON (AP) - Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is stepping down as chairman of Breitbart News Network after a public break with President Donald Trump.

Breitbart announced Tuesday that Bannon would step down as executive chairman of the conservative news site, less than a week after Bannon's explosive criticisms of Trump and his family were published in a new book.

A report on the Breitbart website quotes Bannon saying, "I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform."

Trump lashed out at Bannon for comments made in Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," which questions the president's fitness for office. As Trump aides called him disloyal and disgraceful, the president branded his former chief strategist on Twitter as "Sloppy Steve," an apparent reference to Bannon's often unkempt appearance, and declared that "he lost his mind" when he was pushed out of the White House last August.

After days of silence amid withering criticism from his former colleagues and his largest benefactor, Bannon tried to make amends. He issued a statement Sunday praising the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., whom he was quoted accusing of treasonous behavior in the book. Bannon did not apologize for his criticism of the president's daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, with whom he had squabbled inside the West Wing.

Bannon's departure from Breitbart came as a shock to some of his allies. One said Bannon was telling people as recently as Monday that he expected to stay on.

Inside the White House, Bannon was viewed as the keeper of Trump's nationalistic flame, charting the progress on the president's promises to his base on dry erase boards in his office. But Bannon was marginalized in the months before his ouster over Trump's concerns that the top aide was being viewed as an Oval Office puppeteer.

The White House did not immediately respond to the news of Bannon's ouster, but press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders last week called on the conservative site — which has been a steadfast backer of the president — to "look at and consider" parting ways with Bannon.

On Monday, deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Bannon's apology did not alter his standing with the president. "I don't believe there's any way back for Mr. Bannon at this point," Gidley said.

AP Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace and AP writer Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report. </s> Steve Bannon, the former right-hand man to US president Donald Trump, is set to visit Zurich in March at the invitation of conservative Swiss magazine Die Weltwoche, the publication’s editor revealed on Wednesday.

The nationalist American media executive will speak on March 6th about his time in Trump’s White House, Weltwoche editor-in-chief and member of Switzerland’s right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) Roger Köppel announced on Facebook.

The location of the event – Bannon’s first such public appearance in Europe – has not yet been revealed. Anyone hoping to attend will have to register in advance with registrations opening on February 20th.

Bannon co-founded the far-right US news site Breitbart but in August 2016 he gave up his position as executive chairman of the company to run Trump’s presidential campaign during its final stages.

He was then appointed White House Chief Strategist – a move criticised by both the political left and elements within the Republican establishment concerned about his background with the ultra-conservative Breitbart News.

But Bannon lasted only seven months in the newly-created position and was sacked after allegedly falling out with both the US president, members of the Trump family and other key figures in the West Wing.

He then returned to Breitbart only to be pushed out in January in the wake of allegations in his book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House that Donald Trump Jr had participated in a “treasonous” meeting with a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer. </s> President Trump is cheering his former chief strategist Steve Bannon's return to leading the influential conservative media outlet Breitbart News after his forced resignation from the White House.

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Trump tweeted from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club Saturday that Bannon may be "even better than ever before" in his return to Breitbart.

Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at @BreitbartNews...maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017

The White House has not said whether President Trump and Bannon have spoken since Bannon was forced to resign from his post Friday as chief strategist.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the departure, effective Friday, was "mutually agreed" upon by Bannon and Chief of Staff John Kelly.

"We are grateful for his service and wish him the best," Sanders said in a statement to ABC News.

A source close to Trump told ABC News it was ultimately the president's decision to dismiss Bannon. The message was delivered this morning from Kelly, who was with the president at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey. Bannon was at the White House when he received the call that it was time for him to leave.

Bannon had submitted a letter of resignation to the president earlier this month with an effective date of Monday, Aug. 14, according to sources close to both Bannon and Trump. But amid the fallout from Trump's controversial response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend and earlier this week, Bannon's Aug. 14 resignation date came and went as the president considered Bannon's future, sources said. Meanwhile, several top Trump aides continued to make the case that he needed to go.

Prior to joining the Trump administration, Bannon served as executive chairman of Breitbart News. On Friday evening, in the top story on its homepage, Breitbart announced Bannon's return to the media company to again serve as executive chairman.

"'Populist Hero’ Stephen K. Bannon Returns Home to Breitbart," reads the headline.

Bannon has clashed with virtually every top official in the White House. Atop his list of in-house detractors were senior adviser Jared Kushner, national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster and Chief of Staff Kelly.

One of McMaster's first moves was to remove Bannon from his seat at the National Security Council, a move that angered him. And his appointment as the council's chief political strategist was hugely controversial when it was first announced via executive order at the start of the administration.

Over the weekend, McMaster refused to say whether he would continue to work with Bannon.

Bannon joined the Trump campaign in August. He would become known as a fearless and critically influential adviser to the president, but has now become the latest high-profile aide to leave the White House. On July 21, press secretary Sean Spicer resigned, followed by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci was fired a few days later, serving just 11 days in that role.

On Tuesday, the president told reporters at Trump Tower that Bannon was a "good man” and “not a racist.”

"I like Mr. Bannon. He's a friend of mine. But Mr. Bannon came on very late. You know that. I went through 17 senators, governors, and I won all the primaries. Mr. Bannon came on very much later than that," Trump said before adding, "but we'll see what happens with Mr. Bannon."

Trump had grown increasingly frustrated with Bannon in recent weeks, according to one senior White House official, and dissatisfaction from within Trump's inner circle was compounded Wednesday by his interview in American Prospect magazine, in which he seemed to undercut the president on North Korea.

"There's no military solution here, they got us," Bannon told the magazine.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Bannon confirmed rumors shared with ABC News by a source close to the former chief strategist that he would continue to work in the president's interests.

"If there’s any confusion out there, let me clear it up: I’m leaving the White House and going to war for Trump against his opponents -- on Capitol Hill, in the media, and in corporate America,” Bannon told Bloomberg News.

After news of Bannon's demise first went viral, Breitbart's editor tweeted an ominous message: "#WAR." </s> Special Counsel Robert Mueller III on Tuesday asked United States President Donald Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon (pictured above) to testify before a grand jury in connection with allegations about Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Mueller, who is heading the investigation, subpoenaed Bannon on the same day the White House Chief strategist testified before a House Intelligence Committee, Bloomberg reported.

The Justice Department allows prosecutors to subpoena the targets of an investigation only in rare circumstances, The New York Times reported.

The former chief strategist refused to answer questions the House Intelligence Committee asked, Democratic Party member and intelligence committee member Adam Schiff told The Guardian. Schiff said the former Breitbart executive “was willing to answer our questions but under instructions from the White House not to.”

Bannon had a public falling out with Trump after he told Michael Wolff, the author of the book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, that the meeting between Donald Trump Jr, the president’s eldest son, and a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information on Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”. On January 10, Bannon had resigned from the right-wing website Breitbart News.
Steve Bannon steps down as executive chairman of Breitbart News amid a dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump over comments he made about the Trump family in Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury.