Steve Bannon, former adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, labeled Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg a criminal during an appearance on ABC’s This Week with Jonathan Karl.
The discussion touched on Zuckerberg and other tech leaders’ connections to Trump and their prominent placement at the upcoming inauguration. Bannon claimed Trump had “broken the oligarchs,” adding that they had “surrendered.”
Karl pressed Bannon further, asking whether he believed Zuckerberg’s supposed “conversion” was genuine.
“Absolutely not,” Bannon responded. “I think Mark Zuckerberg is a criminal.”
Bannon expressed a desire for Zuckerberg to face legal scrutiny, referring to the term “Zuckerbucks,” which Republicans use to describe Zuckerberg’s financial contributions to a nonprofit that provided funds to election boards during the 2020 election. Although Zuckerberg described the donations as “non-partisan,” Republicans argued that the funds were disproportionately allocated to favor left-leaning areas.

“I want to see that in a systematic adjudication either in the House or, I think, better with a grand jury and a special prosecutor to go through 2020,” Bannon added.
Karl sought clarification, asking if Bannon was advocating for the Justice Department under Trump to pursue charges against Zuckerberg. Bannon denied calling for such action.
“I didn’t say that,” Bannon explained. “What I want is the House to do it first. But if they’re not prepared to do it, a special counsel’s set up that looks at the 2020 election and looks at it seriously and adjudicates it. If there’s nothing there, there’s nothing there.”
However, Bannon expressed skepticism about Zuckerberg’s long-term loyalty, stating that he would “flip on us in the second.”
Bannon has been vocal in his criticism of Zuckerberg, repeating earlier accusations that the Meta CEO “can’t be trusted” and continuing to promote the baseless claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
“When it’s convenient for him, he will flip,” Bannon asserted.
The remarks come shortly after news broke that Zuckerberg will host a black-tie event on Jan. 20 following Trump’s inauguration. In recent weeks, Zuckerberg has been seen at Mar-a-Lago for meetings with Trump, made a $1 million contribution to Trump’s inaugural fund, and announced the end of Meta’s fact-checking initiative.
{Matzav.com}