NEW YORK — A Manhattan judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case against a Steve Bannon associate accused of siphoning donations from the “We Build the Wall” fund — after a deadlocked jury said it couldn’t overcome ideological differences.
The mistrial comes after the jury deliberated for more than 30 hours whether Colorado businessman Timothy Shea was guilty of stealing contributions from the $25 million raised by ex-President Donald Trump’s supporters. The fund aimed to privately finance a portion of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump’s signature immigration policy.
On Thursday, the jury wrote Judge Analisa Torres to say a holdout, Roberto, described the case as a “government witch hunt.” They wrote that his beliefs were preventing them from reaching a verdict. The juror, according to notes, had accused his fellow panelists of being biased New York liberals.
