Already facing a two-year prison term in federal prison after being found guilty for contempt of Congress, Steve Bannon, a former political strategist for failed ex-president Donald Trump, will surrender to New York authorities on Thursday for his role in an alleged scheme to defraud contributors to a $25 million fundraising effort for building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to The Washington Post:
The precise details of the state case could not be confirmed Tuesday evening. But people familiar with the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sealed indictment, suggested the prosecution will likely mirror aspects of the federal case in which Bannon was pardoned.
In that indictment, prosecutors alleged that Bannon and several others defrauded contributors to a private, $25 million fundraising effort, called “We Build the Wall,” taking funds that donors were told would support construction of a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Shortly after news broke of the latest indictment against Bannon, he lashed out in statement which reads in part, “The Soros-backed DA has now decided to pursue phony charges against me 60 days before the midterm election because WarRoom is the major source of the MAGA grassroots movement. The SDNY did the exact same thing in August 2020 to try to take me out of the election. It didn’t work then, it certainly won’t work now.”
Ironically, Bannon was pardoned by Trump on federal charges connected to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising scheme, but that pardon doesn’t protect him from being indicted and put on trial in New York. Bannon pleaded not guilty to those charges, which included allegations that he had personally pocketed $1 million of the donated funds.
Bannon may also be in further legal jeopardy for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His name has come up frequently during the public hearings being conducted by the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6.
Here’s more on Bannon’s contempt of Congress conviction:
