Conservative host Steve Bannon admitted in court to defrauding New Yorkers who donated to his “We Build the Wall” online fundraiser — but will serve no prison time as part of the plea deal.
Bannon, 71, wearing his signature dusted brown jacket, pleaded guilty before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge April Newbauer to one count of scheme to defraud in the $15 million border wall fundraising scam, the New York Post noted.
“Do you now plead guilty to count 5, scheme to defraud,” a court clerk asked, to which Bannon responded, “Yes.”
Since Bannon got a three-year conditional discharge, he won’t have to go to prison for any of that time. He won’t have to pay for what he did either.
He was going to be tried on March 4 for his role in the “We Build the Wall” campaign, which was supposed to raise money to build a wall along the border between the US and Mexico. He and others were accused of lying to potential donors by saying that “not one penny” would go to the campaign’s president, US Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage, who lost three limbs in an Iraq bombing in 2004.
But prosecutors said Kolfage took home more than $250,000 in salary paid for by donations. They said the money was used to make Bannon and others involved in the scheme rich.
After being sentenced, Bannon said he felt “like a million bucks.” He also asked US Attorney General Pam Bondi to start a criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg right away because of “what they did to President Trump.”
Bannon and his lawyer, Arthur Aidala, both said they didn’t think he could get a fair trial because the New York City jury pool “overwhelmingly voted against [Trump].”
The agreement is a “spectacular disposition,” according to Aidala, since Bannon escapes actual punishment beyond being limited to charitable work.
Bannon’s plea deal stipulates that he must stay out of jail in order to avoid further penalties. In addition, he is prohibited from giving money to or acting as “an officer, director, or in any other fiduciary position” for any New York state organization.
Bannon is also not allowed to use, sell, or process any information that We Build the Wall requests from donors.
According to the prosecution, he could receive a maximum indeterminate sentence of 1 ⅓ to 4 years in state prison if he were to break any of the terms of the plea.
In a statement, Bragg said the resolution fulfills his office’s main objective of safeguarding charities in New York from deception.
“New York has an important interest in rooting out fraud in our markets, our corporations, and our charities, and we will continue to do just that,” Bragg said.
Bannon had never been convicted of a felony before. In 2022, he lied to Congress and was found guilty of contempt, a misdemeanor.
He was released in November after spending four months in a federal prison.
The plea marked a significant end to a case that had been raging through Manhattan courts for over two years, filled with setbacks, the replacement of Bannon’s legal teams, and his accusations that the prosecution had adopted a “vindictive” approach.
Bannon was a prominent member of the right-wing media who worked as a White House strategist and helped build Trump’s 2016 victory.
Additionally, he collaborated with We Build the Wall, a nonprofit organization that used social media to raise millions of dollars.
Bannon has also remained highly popular in the media for decades and has maintained a dominance in the headlines within the liberal media for his opinions and views.
