Democrats’ Trump impeachment lawyer says people like Steve Bannon need to be eradicated from US politics

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The lead counsel in the first impeachment inquiry against former President Donald Trump says that Steve Bannon and other right-wing extremists should be eradicated from the centre of US politics and returned to the fringes.

Daniel Goldman was speaking on Tuesday’s edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, during which he announced that he is running to be attorney general of New York.

Asked about the prosecution of Mr Bannon – the former adviser to Mr Trump and host of the right-wing podcast War Room – Mr Goldman defended the decision to move ahead with the case for defying a congressional subpoena related to the investigation in the Capitol riot.

“It goes to a much larger point, which is it’s one thing for someone like Steve Bannon to be on the fringes, as he was for so long,” said Mr Goldman. “It’s another thing for him to be at the centre of the Republican Party right now, and that’s where he is and that’s what’s so scary, is that when he starts preaching about bringing down the state, you could think it’s just a raving of a lunatic.”

“But the reality is he has an incredible following, he has a close relationship with the former president and he feels like he’s above the law, as do all of his followers and the former president,” he added.

“The fact the matter is, the only way to save our state, so to speak, is to fight for the rule of law and to fight for our democratic values and we need to eradicate people like Steve Bannon from prominence. Not eradicate them, they can be on the fringes, but they should not be at the centre of the political landscape,” he concluded.

When pressed about what he meant by host Joe Scarborough, Mr Goldman said that US Attorney General Merrick Garland is doing exactly what is needed by upholding the rule of law.

“If Steve Bannon is just going to flout his nose at a congressional subpoena and say it does not apply to me, then he needs to be charged and put in jail so that he recognises that he’s not above the law,” said Mr Goldman.

“The rule of law still controls this democratic country, and that’s going to be both the message to him and all of his followers,” he added.

Mr Goldman made his announcement that he is running for New York state attorney general, citing the case against Mr Bannon and noting that he was on the frontlines of the impeachment and fighting for the rule of law and democracy.

He said he wants to return to the frontlines in that role “to fight these very important battles to preserve our democratic values and preserve the rule of law and to represent the people of New York as the people’s lawyer.

In October, Letitia James, the state’s current attorney general, announced her intention to run for governor in 2022.