A former Donald Trump campaign manager foresees an unsual turn of events when the Electoral College results are presented in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday (January 6).

"All hell is going to break loose tomorrow," Steve Bannon predicted on a right-wing radio show.

He made this declaration after Republican Iowa senator Chuck Grassley issued a statement suggesting that he—and not Vice President Mike Pence—would preside over the certification of Electoral College votes.

That was because Pence was "not expected" to attend, even though the vice president normally performs this task. 

Grassley is president pro tempore of the United States Senate.

An hour later, Grassley's office clarified this comment, saying that this would happen only if Pence had to step away from the proceedings.

"Every indication we have is that the vice president will be there," Grassley's office told Roll Call.

Bannon, however, responded this way: "The buried lead is 'we don't expect him to be there.' We don't expect him to be there."

"It's the fog of war," Bannon added. "Keep focus on what's important."

https://twitter.com/MJI_2013/status/1346514610011185152

According to CBS News, Grassley has not declared if he will support the counting of the Electoral College votes.

Many observers have stated that the Congress does not have constitutional authority to overturn the results of the Electoral College vote.

The link in the following tweet lays out this case. The article was written by Alan Charles Raul, former associate counsel to President Ronald Reagan, and retired appellate attorney Richard Bernstein.

https://twitter.com/catherine_lucey/status/1346082439786061824

Bannon faces court date on May

Meanwhile, Bannon and three associates have been charged in the Southern District of New York with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commmit money laundering.

It's in connection with donations collected to fund a wall along the U.S. southern border.

The charges carry prison sentences of up to 20 years in jail.

The four accused are set to be tried on May 24.

However, there's widespread speculation that Trump may pardon Bannon in advance, saving him the trouble of having to mount a defence against his criminal charges.

Bannon was Trump's chief strategist in the White House until he was fired in 2017.

In 2018, author Michael Wolff reported in his book, Fire and Fury, that Bannon aspired to become president of the United States.

In addition, Wolff reported that Trump's daughter, Ivanka, also mused about one day becoming the country's president.

It's widely believed that Trump plans to grant a pardon to Ivanka, even though she hasn't been charged with any crimes.