Bannon Steps Down From Breitbart News After Comments on Trump

Stephen Bannon, campaign CEO for President-elect Donald Trump, leaves Trump Tower in New York. (Photo: AP)

Steve Bannon has stepped down as executive chairman of Breitbart News, the right-wing news organisation said on its website on Tuesday, 9 January, after the former White House chief strategist was quoted in a book criticising US President Donald Trump.

"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 Chief Executive Larry Solov said in a statement on the website.

Recently, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" by author Michael Wolff set off a political firestorm with its portrayal of Trump as not particularly wanting to win the US presidency in 2016 and unprepared for the job.

Some of the harshest commentary came from Bannon, who headed the final stage of Trump's campaign and became chief strategist at the White House before being fired in August.

Trump's lawyer had, on Thursday, 4 January, said he would try to stop publication of a book that portrays an inept president in a fumbling White House and threatened legal action against Bannon over "defamatory" comments in the book.

Charles Harder, Trump’s personal lawyer, in a legal notice provided to Reuters, had warned of possible claims including libel against Wolff and publisher Henry Holt & Co and threatened to try to block publication of the book. Harder had also told Reuters that “legal action is imminent” against Bannon.

Henry Holt had said in a statement it had received a cease-and-desist letter from Trump's attorney but would go ahead with publishing the book.

We see ‘Fire and Fury’ as an extraordinary contribution to our national discourse, and are proceeding with the publication of the book.

Statement by Holt

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