Former White House strategist Steve Bannon arrived in New York to face state criminal charges that he defrauded contributors to a fund to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.
(Bloomberg) — Former White House strategist Steve Bannon arrived in New York to face state criminal charges that he defrauded contributors to a fund to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.
“This is an irony,” Bannon said after pulling up in a black SUV to a courthouse in lower Manhattan to surrender to authorities Thursday. “On the very day the mayor of this city has a delegation down on the border, they are persecuting people here for trying to stop them at the border.”
The charges relate to Bannon’s involvement in We Build the Wall, a group that funded about five miles (eight kilometers) of border fencing in two locations in Texas and New Mexico, according to authorities. District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr. and New York Attorney General Letitia James will detail the charges in a sealed indictment at a press briefing at 1 p.m.
Bannon was charged by federal prosecutors in 2020 of defrauding donors by claiming the group was run by volunteers, even as he allegedly took more than $1 million from the fund in part to pay personal expenses. He was pardoned by Donald Trump on his last day as president.
How Steve Bannon Faces NY ‘Wall’ Prosecution After Trump Pardon
Three other men were also charged with fraud by federal prosecutors but didn’t receive pardons. Two pleaded guilty and one went to trial, which resulted in a hung jury in June.
Bannon is awaiting sentencing in a separate court case in Washington, where a jury in July found him guilty of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. His lawyers said they will appeal that decision.
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