In this Monday, May 27, 2019 file photo, former White House strategist Steve Bannon poses prior to an interview with The Associated Press, in Paris. Italy’s top administrative court, the Council of State, has ruled Monday March 15, 2021, against a conservative think tank affiliated with former White House adviser Steve Bannon over its use of the Certosa di Trisulti monastery, located in the province of Frosinone south of Rome, to train future populist leaders. (AP File/Thibault Camus) Rome — Italy's top administrative court has ruled against a conservative think tank affiliated with former White House adviser Steve Bannon over its use of a 13th century hilltop monastery to train future populist leaders, a decision Bannon denounced March 16 as a politically motivated "joke."