Steve Bannon’s NYC trial in border wall scam pushed to February

Steve Bannon’s proceedings connected charges of duping conservatives into donating for a “border wall” project has been pushed backmost to February.

Bannon, 70, had been set to basal trial opening Dec. 9, but authorities Supreme Court Judge April Newbauer moved the day to Feb. 25 successful a proceeding Monday morning.

The case against Bannon began successful precocious 2020, erstwhile national investigators accused him and 3 associates of fraud and wealth laundering. Bannon and his partners acceptable up a foundation called We Build The Wall, Inc. and encouraged conservatives and Donald Trump supporters to donate and assistance implicit Trump’s committedness of a borderline partition connected the U.S.-Mexico border.

The radical raised much than $25 cardinal with a committedness that “all the money” would spell to a borderline wall, investigators said. But a batch of the wealth alternatively landed successful the pockets of Bannon and his co-conspirators, according to authorities.

Trump, 78, pardoned Bannon successful the last hours of his archetypal word arsenic president. However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought state charges against Bannon successful September 2022. Trump volition not beryllium capable to pardon Bannon a 2nd clip due to the fact that it is not a national case.

The assemblage volition beryllium allowed to perceive grounds that Bannon took $600,000 from We Build The Wall and utilized it to wage a recognition paper measure that he’d racked up astatine a antithetic non-profit, Newbauer ruled Monday. Bannon’s defence squad had sought to forestall the instauration of specified evidence.

“Stephen Bannon acted arsenic the designer of a multimillion-dollar strategy to defraud thousands of donors crossed the state – including hundreds of Manhattan residents,” Bragg said successful a connection astatine the time.

Bannon, who has pleaded not guilty, was released successful precocious October aft 4 months astatine a national prison successful Connecticut. He had been convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to attest successful beforehand of a House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught connected the Capitol.

Though Trump pardoned Bannon successful the archetypal case, helium near the co-conspirators connected the hook. Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato pleaded guilty successful April 2022, and Timothy Shea was convicted successful October 2023. They each received situation presumption of astatine slightest 3 years, and they were not charged successful the New York authorities case.

With Molly Crane-Newman