In a dramatic turn, Steve Bannon, once a key strategist for Donald Trump, admitted in a New York courtroom that he played a role in deceiving donors who contributed to a private effort to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Bannon, 71, entered a guilty plea to fraud charges on Tuesday, acknowledging that the fundraising campaign, which collected over $15 million, wasn’t as transparent as it had claimed to be. Instead of facing a trial in March, he was immediately sentenced to three years of conditional release, escaping jail time but facing restrictions on his future involvement with nonprofit organizations in New York.
The case stemmed from his involvement in the “We Build the Wall” initiative, where donors were led to believe all contributions would directly fund the construction of border barriers. However, prosecutors revealed that significant sums were funneled elsewhere, with hundreds of thousands of dollars benefiting the drive’s chief executive, Brian Kolfage, who is currently serving a federal prison sentence for related charges.
Outside the courtroom, Bannon remained defiant, ignoring questions about his case and instead launching an attack on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James, calling them threats to Trump’s political future.
Bannon, who once served as Trump’s chief strategist before falling out and later reconciling with the former president, had previously faced similar charges at the federal level. However, Trump pardoned him in the final hours of his presidency. This time, since the charges were brought at the state level, no presidential pardon could shield him.
