Steve Bannon has been indicted after surrendering himself to prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Thursday morning around 9 a.m. local time.
The White House chief strategist of former President Donald Trump was charged with two counts of money laundering, three counts of conspiracy, and one count of scheming to defraud, according to Reuters. Trump pardoned him from in a fraud case pertaining to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising effort.
STEVE BANNON FACING NEW CRIMINAL INDICTMENT IN NEW YORK
“Just days after being swatted three different times by deranged thugs from New York City inspired by the Biden Administration to assassinate me by police, the Soros-backed DA has now decided to pursue phony charges against me 60 days before the midterm election because WarRoom is the major source of the MAGA grassroots movement,” Bannon said in a statement on the charges Tuesday.
Bannon, 68, was previously indicted for allegedly defrauding contributors to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising effort — a gambit aimed at raising private funds to erect a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The venture amassed $25 million for the project, but Bannon and his partners pocketed $1 million, prosecutors alleged. He denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the charges in August 2020.
Trump granted Bannon a pardon on the eve of his departure from the White House alongside a sprawling list of 140 people, sparing his longtime ally from possible prison time. However, a presidential pardon does not shield Bannon from state or local charges.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg planned to indict Bannon on state charges for the alleged scam Thursday after an investigation was initiated under Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance, the Washington Post reported. Bragg is also conducting a sweeping criminal inquiry into Trump’s business practices.
Two other people who participated pleaded guilty to federal charges, while a third person’s trial resulted in a mistrial back in June, the news outlet reported.
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In July, Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress for his refusal to sit for a deposition before the Jan. 6 committee and turn over documents. Attorneys for Bannon argued that Trump’s assertion of executive privilege prevented him from complying.
