Steve Bannon, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, demanded an investigation into Fox News over allegations that illicit ties to foreign intelligence services and political parties could influence coverage favorable toward Israel and in support of the United States’s intervention in international conflicts.
“I just think there ought to be an investigation. Are they dealing directly with foreign intelligence services? Are they dealing with foreign political parties? Where are they getting their talking points?” During a Thursday interview on One America News’s The Matt Gaetz Show, Bannon questioned “how much communication … the American people should be able to know this because it’s so over the top.”
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Bannon, a former White House adviser to Trump during his first term in office, remains an important voice in the president’s circle, where allies have presented often competing views on Israel and U.S. intervention abroad.
Media personality Tucker Carlson, alongside Bannon, is often viewed as favoring isolationist approaches due to their anti-war rhetoric. The two men have emerged as strong critics of Israel, expressing particular discomfort over the president’s decision to get involved with the country’s conflict with Iran. President Donald Trump authorized U.S. military strikes on the regime’s nuclear facilities, with evidence showing the strongly backed decision by rank-and-file members of Trump’s base.
The two men have particularly gone after conservative figures such as Fox News commentator Mark Levin, a Trump ally and avid supporter of Israel, who has lobbied the president to support the only Jewish country.
Bannon singled Levin out during the interview as he accused Fox News of operating at “the behest of the Israel First crowd” and of being unduly focused on the Israel-Iran war.
“Levin’s the worst but by far not the only at Fox News,” he complained in comments echoed by fellow total non-interventionists in the Trump camp like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). “They never put on a counterargument. And any time you mention any criticism, they lose it, like Levin.”
Levin criticized Bannon in comments responding to similar comments earlier this month.
“Nobody gives a sh** about what you, Bannon [think]… You opposed our great military and commander in chief at a time when they acted to destroy Iran’s nukes. 80% of Americans backed the operation. You and your tiny cabal of lunatics gave aid and comfort to the enemy. Now you prance around like you support our country rather than apologize for your outrageous disloyalty. And you stabbed the president in the back in the middle of battle despite the fact he pardoned your sorry ass for God knows what,” he said in a fiery post to X.
Bannon’s call for an investigation into Fox News comes as the network has been the subject of multiple attacks in recent days from both sides of the aisle.
During a Thursday morning press briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed the network for reporting on a leaked preliminary intelligence assessment that downplayed Trump’s recent strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, which officials later affirmed had been “completely” obliterated.
“Jennifer, you’ve been about the worst, the one who misrepresents the most intentionally,” he said in remarks targeted at Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin.
“You cheer against Trump so hard,” he continued in remarks to the Pentagon press corps. “It’s like in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad.”
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On the other end of the political spectrum, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) hit Fox News with a lawsuit on Friday that alleged the network deliberately misrepresented a phone call he had with Trump to paint him negatively.
“If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s behalf, it should face consequences, just like it did in the Dominion case,” Newsom said. “I believe the American people should be able to trust the information they receive from a major news outlet. Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine.”