David Bossie Tells Martha Maccallum That Bringing Clinton Accusers to Second Debate Was Steve Bannon's Idea: "It Was A Brilliant Stroke" pic.twitter.com/IoRxtBnbfy
It’s become political legend that two days after the “Access Hollywood” video first surfaced, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Steve Bannon, responded with one of the most brutal stunts of the 2016 campaign. But emails obtained by TheWrap suggest it may not have been Bannon’s idea after all.
Just before the Oct. 9 presidential debate with Hillary Clinton in St. Louis, where Trump’s “grab ‘em by the p—y” comments were sure to be the focus, Trump hosted a news conference with several women who had accused President Clinton of sexual misconduct. The plan was to rattle Hillary Clinton and shift scrutiny to her husband.
Trump advisors like the idea so much that they’re still arguing over who thought of it. Roger Stone, a master of political dirty tricks dating back to the Nixon administration, says it was actually his idea — and that emails obtained by TheWrap prove it.
The emails surfaced this week after conservative activist David Bossie appeared on Fox News and credited Bannon with the idea for bringing President Clinton’s accusers to the debate.
In one email, dated Aug. 19, 2016, Stone wrote to Bannon about several of President Clinton’s accusers: “Broaddrick, Willey, Jones, Shelton others ON BOARD. Once they get in the news cycle it would allow Trump to raise the issue without being the originator.”
“They could be called to stand up in the audience or showcased in debates,” he added. “They could join Trump at rallys [sic]”
Stone told TheWrap they did talk, and discussed the idea at length though a Bannon ally said Bannon had already thought of the idea, before Stone suggested it.
In another email, dated Sept. 23, Stone personally suggested putting “Juanita Broaddrick in the front row,” after news emerged that Trump adversary Mark Cuban might come as a guest of Team Clinton to the first debate. Broaddrick has accused Bill Clinton of raping here in 1978, while he was serving as Arkansas Attorney General.
The next day, Trump himself proposed a similar idea on Twitter — though it involved a different accuser of President Clinton.
A similar idea — to seat President Clinton’s accusers prominently in the Oct. 9 debate audience — was planned but thwarted at the last minute by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
“I suggested to Steve Bannon that the women be brought to a debate and he wisely executed the idea,” Stone told TheWrap, when asked about the emails. “Steve Bannon is a friend and I am simpatico with his mission. I give him credit for getting the idea implemented.”
The narrative that Bannon masterminded the stunt appears in Joshua Green’s book “Devil’s Bargain” and the new book “Let Trump Be Trump: The Inside Story of His Rise to the Presidency” by former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and Bossie.
Bossie spoke to Fox News’ Martha Maccallum about the stunt on Tuesday as part of a book tour. “That was Steve Bannon’s [idea],” he said. “It was a brilliant stroke.”
Stone said Bossie may have been misinformed.
“Perhaps Dave doesn’t know the impetus for this idea,” said Stone who has also co-authored a book about Clinton abusers: “The Clintons’ War on Women” around the same time. “Perhaps he’s not lying, perhaps he thinks that Steve Bannon did it. That’s the most benign [explanation]. Perhaps he speaks out of ignorance.”
But Team Bannon pushed back. Though Bannon was unavailable for comment, Aaron Klein, the Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter for Breitbart, said Stone was full of it.
“The idea was conceived in conversations between Steve and myself in early August prior to Stone’s email,” he told TheWrap. “As early as May, we had brainstorming conversations about how to bring the issue of Clinton’s sexual assault victims and Hillary’s work in silencing those women into the national discourse surrounding the 2016 presidential election.”
As part of his portfolio for Breitbart, Klein worked extensively with multiple Clinton accusers, including Broaddrick, long before Stone’s August email.
In comments to TheWrap, Broaddrick did not deny the possibility that Stone may have originated the idea, but cast doubt on his suggestion that she was “on board” with anything in August.
“I’ve never even met the man. I’ve never even talked with the man. I’ve never had any dealings with the man,” she told TheWrap. “I received a call the day before the debate, a call from the Trump campaign” inviting her to appear, she said.
Broaddrick’s recollection of the call places it around the time when the “Access Hollywood” tape became public.
All 19 Movies and Shows Steve Bannon Wrote, Directed or Produced (Photos)
Before he had the ear of the president, former White House Chief Political Strategist Steve Bannon tried his hand at Hollywood. As a producer, he was behind several small movies, but he really hit his movie-making stride writing and directing conservative documentaries aimed at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Here's a complete list of every Hollywood project in which Bannon's had a hand.
“The Indian Runner” (1991) — Executive Producer Bannon’s first movie as an executive producer was, somewhat ironically, written and directed by famous Trump critic Sean Penn. “The Indian Runner” starred Viggo Mortensen and David Morse as brothers on the opposite sides of the law. Here’s the trailer.
MGM
"Seinfeld" (1992) — Investor Bannon's investment banking company bought a minor stake in Castle Rock Entertainment, the producer behind the show, in 1992. That gave Bannon's company an undisclosed chunk of the syndication royalties for the show. By 2013, "Seinfeld" reruns had earned $3.1 billion. Even if Bannon only had a 1% cut of the royalties, "Seinfeld" would have netted him $31 million.
NBC
"Titus" (1999) — Co-Executive Producer Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange star in this modern-styled adaptation of the Shakespeare “Titus Andronicus.” That story packs an interesting mix of 1950s aesthetics and ancient Roman subject matter. Bannon served as co-executive producer on the project, the production of which was his obsession for almost a decade. Watch the trailer here.
Fox
“Reagan: In the Face of Evil” (2004) — Co-Producer Bannon wrote and directed this documentary, based on the book “Reagan’s War” by Peter Schweizer. It’s heavily conservative and positive about the former Republican president, focusing on his Cold War battle with the Soviet Union. It also holds a fairly abysmal 11 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration” (2006) — Executive Producer Bannon’s got a lot of interest in illegal immigration. “Border War” expands its look on illegal immigrants coming from Mexico, trying to include everything from human smuggling and crime to protests and immigration laws. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Tradition Never Graduates: A Season Inside Notre Dame Football” (2007) — Executive Producer For the first time since he was producing Shakespeare, Bannon’s filmography takes a break from conservative-leaning movies to talk about how great Notre Dame football is.
Vimeo
“The Chaos Experiment” (2009) — Executive Producer Obviously the best way to improve a “Saw”-style serial killer thriller is with a heavy handed anti-global warming message. Val Kilmer is a deranged global warming scientist who no one will believe. So he locks six people in a steam room to simulate what global warming will eventually do to the world. Watch the trailer here.
YouTube
“Generation Zero” (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer More than one critic called Bannon's documentary “Generation Zero” a “horror movie” about the US economy. Bannon explains the economic crash of 2008 by blaming the national deficit and bank bailouts, as well as the 1960s and the Baby Boomer generation. But really, this is about the rise of the Tea Party. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Battle for America” (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer Bannon tried to get out the conservative vote for the 2010 midterm elections by painting it as a war against the Obama Administration in this documentary. It's kind of hilarious listening to some of the conservative comments about the radical Obama presidency in the face of Trump's first seven weeks in office. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Fire from the Heartland" (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer Focusing on women in American conservatism, "Fire from the Heartland" paints the picture of a powerful American cultural movement that draws strength from women's issues. The movie posits that angry "Mama Grizzly" conservative women are the unforeseen side-effect of feminism in America. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Sarah Palin: The Undefeated" (2010) "The Undefeated" chronicles Sarah Palin's rise in battling the Republican establishment and the liberal media. Bannon's doc explores her life and history as a politician, painting her as a warrior who went up against special interests and corruption as she rose from Alaska to the national stage. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“The Hope & the Change” (2012) — Writer, Director, Producer Democrats are disillusioned because of Barack Obama, Bannon works to show in this documentary. Interviewing something like 40 Democrats and Independents, the movie finds people who never got the Hope and Change they were promised. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“District of Corruption” (2012) — Writer, Director, Producer Before he was part of the Trump Administration and the constant allegations of corruption it weathers, Bannon made this doc hammering the Obama Administration with claims of corruption. Bannon wrote and directed this one, working with conservative watch dog group Judicial Watch. Check out the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Occupy Unmasked” (2012) — Writer, Director Bannon's documentaries have shown the Tea Party in a positive light, and in "Occupy Unmasked," he goes after a liberal movement. The movie portrays Occupy as radical, uncontrollable, and dangerous. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Sweetwater” (2013) — Executive Producer Taking a break from making documentaries, Bannon produced "Sweetwater." The Western is all about revenge and murdering bad dudes, and has a pretty notable cast, including heavy hitters like January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Ed Harris and Stephen Root. Watch the trailer here.
“Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power” (2014) — Executive Producer "Rickover" tells the story of controversial US Navy Admiral Hyman Rickover, who pushed for the first nuclear-powered submarine. After that, Rickover became an entrepreneur and nuclear pioneer, building the first commercial nuclear power plant. The documentary, produced by Bannon, appeared on PBS, of all places.
PBS
“Clinton Cash” (2016) — Writer, Executive Producer Ahead of the 2016 election, Bannon wrote a documentary adaptation of the book "Clinton Cash" by Peter Schweizer. The movie focuses on Clinton Foundation corruption and suggests foreign money influences Hillary Clinton in government. Another ironic one, as allegations of ethics breaches and using the presidency for personal enrichment continue to follow the Trump family. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Torchbearer” (2016) — Writer, Director, Executive Producer "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson goes around the world to talk about Christianity and the Bible in this Bannon-directed doc. The Duck Commander uses the Bible to add context to historical sites, pushing the idea of a culture war to get Christians out to the 2016 polls. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Trump @War" (2018) -- Writer, Director
After his ouster from the White House, Bannon directed and co-wrote a documentary ahead of the 2018 midterm elections that portrays Trump supporters as under siege. He also admitted to Axios that he hoped the film would get back into POTUS' good graces: "How jacked do we think Trump will be when he sees this?"
Victory Film Group
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Bannon produced Hollywood movies in the 1990s, but most of his efforts have gone to making polemic, conservative documentaries
Before he had the ear of the president, former White House Chief Political Strategist Steve Bannon tried his hand at Hollywood. As a producer, he was behind several small movies, but he really hit his movie-making stride writing and directing conservative documentaries aimed at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Here's a complete list of every Hollywood project in which Bannon's had a hand.