NEW YORK — The trial of a Steve Bannon associate accused of stealing donations from a fund to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has been thrown into chaos by a juror claiming the case is a government “witch hunt” and that his fellow jurors are biased New York liberals.
Colorado businessman Timothy Shea is on trial in Manhattan Federal Court for his alleged role siphoning money from the “We Build the Wall” charity, which collected cash from supporters of President Donald Trump’s signature policy to combat illegal immigration. The money was supposed to go to a privately funded section of border wall, but prosecutors allege Bannon, Shea and others raided the charity.
Since deliberations began Tuesday, notes from the jury have indicated Juror No. 4 is questioning why the case is charged in the Southern District of New York.
The juror believes “government tried (Shea) in SDNY because they knew people here vote differently, should have been tried in a southern state,” read one note sent to Judge Analisa Torres late Thursday.
The jurors said they were deadlocked because of the holdout juror who has alleged a “government witch hunt” against Shea. The juror cast his fellow panelists as biased liberals and wondered, “What if more evidence exists?” according to the note.
The note also quoted the holdout, whose name is Roberto, saying during deliberations, “Tim Shea is a good man, he doesn’t beat his wife,” and “You can’t just vote to lynch someone.”
Shea is the only defendant to go to trial in the We Build the Wall fraud case charged in August 2020. Bannon was pardoned by Trump, allowing the former White House adviser to dodge charges that he spent $1 million from the charity on personal expenses. Brian Kolfage, a triple amputee Air Force veteran who served as the public face of the successful charity, has pleaded guilty. Andrew Badolato, a longtime Bannon associate from Sarasota, Florida, also pleaded guilty in the case.
Shea is accused of opening a shell company that funneled $20,000 per month from the charity to Kolfage. Shea runs a start-up energy-drink company, Winning Energy, that markets itself as “The Official Fuel of Winners” featuring “Ultra Hydrating Liberal Tears Made in America.”
In response to the notes regarding the troubled deliberations, Torres instructed the jury to continue deliberating. The order seemed to yield some progress, with subsequent jury notes on Friday requesting bank statements introduced as evidence in the trial.
The judge has denied requests from Shea’s attorney John Meringolo for a mistrial. Deliberations will continue Monday.
