Trump confidante, Steve Bannon, is taking a keen interest in what Pennsylvania Republican legislators are sometimes calling a forensic audit.
On September 15, Jake Corman, Republican Majority Leader of Pennsylvania Senate, made an appearance on Bannon’s Podcast/Show, The War Room
Prior to that (August 20), with State Senator and likely Pennsylvania Gubernatorial candidate, Doug Mastriano, appearing with him, Bannon issued a stern warning to Corman. The Majority Leader had just deposed Mastriano as Chairman of the Senate Intergovernmental Committee.
Steve Bannon: Pennsylvania is a red state. A bright red state. The only reason we don’t control everything is they’ve allowed Philadelphia and other places to be stolen year after year. And you know why? Because they didn’t have people like Doug Mastriano who served for 40 years to stick up for it. You got too many worms. You got too many politicians who want to get along… We need a reckoning. This thing is spinning out of control because they were not held accountable. Corman’s got no place to hide. Ward has no place to hide. You’re not going to be able to hide.
Taking credit for Corman’s newfound enthusiasm for the audit, Bannon brought the nervous-sounding senate majority leader onto his show for a phone conversation.
Bannon and Corman closed out the segment with this exchange
Bannon: The attorney general, Shapiro, is obviously running for governor. He’s got a plan to get into the White House, one day, through the governorship of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And he looks to thwart the Trump Movement in doing that. There’s a lot of criticisms I guess, or observations, from the Left-Wing Media – I know MSNBC and CNN’s going to be all over it with Shapiro – saying “Jake Corman’s just – this is a crass political move. He sees the opportunity to get the Trump Movement on his side, and kind of cover his Right Flank, because he’s got ambitions to become Governor too. Any response to that?
Corman: Look. We’re always judged by our results, correct? The results are what matters. It doesn’t matter, as we say in government and politics, “it doesn’t matter what you’re for, if you don’t accomplish anything, what good are you?” And so our results from this investigation is what we’ll be judged by. And I’m willing to stand by that. I think we’re going to put a good, fair, thorough investigation into place, and then let people make decisions [indecipherable].
[…] audit. It was due to Corman’s want, he mentioned, for a actual investigation that he did it. He went on Steve Bannon’s podcast to vow the identical. Mastriano, he advised the Pennsylvania Capital-Star after the transfer was […]