Stephen K Bannon, the former chief strategist of President Trump's White House — also a former Goldman Sachs Mergers and Acquisitions specialist, who graduated with an M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University, as well as an MBA from Harvard; co-founder of the Government Accountability Institute; former member of the principals committee of the National Security Council; and a former U.S. Navy Lieutenant — has been sentenced to four months in prison, and a fine of $6500, for contempt of Congress. (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/21/us/politics/steve-bannon-sentence-contempt-congress.html) His lawyers have said that they will appeal. Executive privilege is one of the issues that has been foregrounded in the media debate about this case.

Disclosure: While I disagree with Steve Bannon about many political issues, I also respect him, and his team, for a number of reasons. I speak to him regularly as a guest on his podcast War Room. I believe he and his team are doing important public service journalism. The concern about which I want to speak now is not about Mr. Bannon personally, or about his case specifically; my warning relates to the broader picture.