The criminal trial for former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and three co-defendants is set to start next spring.
U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres announced on Monday that the trial will begin on May 24, 2021, according to the Washington Post. The judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York also noted that the timing of the trial could be shifted given the state of coronavirus restrictions.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan unsealed an indictment on Aug. 20 that accused Bannon and three associates, Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato, and Timothy Shea, of defrauding donors as they raised more than $25 million in the “We Build The Wall” online fundraising campaign.
Bannon, who was arrested by U.S. Postal Service agents while he was off the Connecticut coast on a $28 million yacht owned by an exiled Chinese billionaire, pleaded not guilty.
“I am not going to back down. This is a political hit job. Everybody knows I love a fight, and I was called ‘honey badger’ for many years. You know, the honey badger doesn’t give. So I’m in this for the long haul. I’m in this for the fight. I’m going to continue to fight,” Bannon said on an episode of his podcast.
Bannon, 66, was the former head of Breitbart News Network and was the CEO of Trump’s presidential campaign before serving as a chief strategist in the White House. He left that role in August 2017.
