On Tuesday Steve Bannon admitted in a court of law to defraud donors through his private border wall fund-raising initiative aimed at building a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
Bannon appeared before a New York court to admit dishonesty in his role at the “We Build the Wall” project that received $15 million in donations from thousands of donors who funded border wall projects. Bannon and his associates redirected substantial financial contributions for personal expenses while Bannon can demonstrate more than one million dollars in personal misspending.
Bannon decided to plead guilty to his participation in the scheme following the prison convictions of co-defendants Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato. The prison term spanned four years for Kolfage and amounted to three years for Badolato in their respective sentences.
The federal authorities charged Bannon in 2020 until Trump granted him a presidential pardon as the trial date approached. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office chose to pursue state-level criminal charges against Bannon on the basis that his conduct broke New York laws. A presidential pardon has no power to influence cases handled by state authorities.
The terms Bannon accepted in his plea agreement resulted in avoiding prison time but instead required him to serve three years under conditional discharge with the prohibition of conducting charitable fundraising in New York state. Under the signed agreement the authorities agreed to dismiss money laundering and conspiracy charges.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Bannon avoided prison time and was given a conditional discharge for three years, which requires him to follow certain conditions, including not being involved in any fundraising activities in New York. As part of the deal, additional charges of money laundering and conspiracy were dropped.
After the plea, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg termed the case a warning against fraudulent fundraising efforts: “No one is above the law, and we will keep holding those accountable who exploit the generosity of the public.”
However, Bannon said he would push back on the prosecution for being politically charged. “This is nothing but a political witch-hunt.”
