Steve Bannon surrenders in New York fraud case

Former Breitbart News leader Steve Bannon has surrendered himself to a New York court, officials confirmed on Thursday. 

The ally of ex-President Donald Trump is accused of duping donors by collecting money to build a wall on the US-Mexico border than never materialized.

The indictment was released soon after he turned himself in. Bannon is charged with two counts off money laundering, three counts of conspiracy, and one count of scheming to defraud — as is the company WeBuildTheWall Inc..

Bannon, 68, and three other men had been charged by federal prosecutors in August 2020 with defrauding donors in a private $25 million fundraising drive, known as "We Build the Wall," to help build Trump's signature wall.

Bannon had pleaded not guilty to that indictment, including to charges he diverted close to $1 million for personal expenses. But his indictment was dismissed after Trump pardoned Bannon in January 2021, in the final hours of his presidency.

Presidential pardons, however, cover only federal charges and do not prohibit state prosecutions.

Bannon pleads not guilty, says charges are politically motivated

The case in New York relates to the same incident. Manhattan prosecutors say that while Bannon promised all donations would go to building the wall, he was involved in transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars to third-party entities and used them to funnel payments to two other people involved in the scheme.

Through his lawyer, Bannon pleaded not guilty later on Thursday. Bannon says the Democratic prosecutor targeted him ahead of November's midterm elections because he and his radio show are popular among Trump's Republican supporters.

Convicted of contempt of congress

Bannon called it "ironic" that he was being charged while the US was still struggling to maintain security at its southern border.

Less than two months ago, Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from a House of Representatives committee probing the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Bannon used Breitbart News to champion Trump's run for president and was then named CEO of his 2016 campaign. He worked as a strategist and counselor in the White House for the first eight months of Trump's administration.

He left shortly after the right-wing "Unite the Right" rally in Virginia in 2017. Bannon said he resigned, but Trump's team said he was fired.

Bannon now runs the popular podcast "War Room," and often hosts guests who deny that Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

es/msh (AP, Reuters)