NEW YORK — Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon turned himself in at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office Thursday to face fraud charges.
The rabble-rousing right-wing political strategist will be charged with money laundering in connection with the “We Build the Wall” fundraising scam, for which he previously faced federal charges. Former President Donald Trump pardoned him during a clemency blitz in his final hours in office.
Bannon arrived at the lower Manhattan courthouse in a black SUV with tinted windows around 9:05 a.m. and cracked jokes before heading inside.
The Manhattan DA confirmed the indictment relates to the 2020 fundraiser to elicit donations from Trump supporters to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Bannon was charged in an August 2020 federal indictment alongside his longtime associate Andrew Badolato, Air Force veteran and triple amputee Brian Kolfage, and Colorado businessman Timothy Shea.
The feds charged Bannon and his former co-defendants with skimming $1 million from $25 million raised by Trump supporters. They said they spent the money on cosmetic surgery, golf carts and credit card debt.
Kolfage and Badolato pleaded guilty to the charges in April and are scheduled to be sentenced in December. The case against Shea ended in a mistrial in June after a holdout juror alleged a government “witch hunt.” He’s set to go back on trial next month.
In July, Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the special House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. He faces up to two years in federal prison when sentenced next month.
____
