Steve Bannon Reportedly Facing New Charges for Defrauding Trump Supporters

Steve Bannon reportedly expects to face new criminal charges in New York related to a scheme to defraud Trump supporters.

Summary

Steve Bannon, the onetime Chief Strategist for former President Donald Trump, reportedly expects to face new criminal charges in New York related to a scheme to defraud Trump supporters.

• The indictment is under seal and the exact charges have not yet been made public, but they are reportedly related to Bannon’s involvement in the “We Build the Wall” scheme, a private effort to build a wall on the southern border.
• Bannon was previously indicted by the Trump-era Justice Department on federal fraud charges in 2020 for allegedly pilfering millions from the “We Build the Wall” campaign to fund his lavish lifestyle.
• Bannon is expected to surrender to New York state prosecutors on Thursday. The case will reportedly be handled by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
• Bannon, the former Breitbart News CEO, was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress in a separate case in July after refusing to testify before the House committee investigating the January 6 riot.

• The Washington Post broke the news of Bannon’s pending indictment. “People familiar with the situation,” told the Post that New York State’s prosecution will “likely mirror aspects of the federal case” where Bannon was pardoned.
• CNN reported several close Bannon associates have been brought in front of a New York grand jury to testify in the case in recent months.
• The Guardian wrote that while Bannon was pardoned for his involvement in the fraud scheme, two alleged co-conspirators pled guilty to stealing donors’ money from the “We Build the Wall” campaign for their own gain.

• FOX News noted Bannon was previously indicted for federal fraud charges in the “We Build the Wall” case, but former President Donald Trump pardoned Bannon for allegedly defrauding his supporters before leaving office in 2021.
• The Washington Examiner covered Bannon’s characteristically restrained response to the charges. Bannon said, “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.”
• Breitbart (Steve Bannon’s former publication) picked up the rest of Bannon’s statement. Bannon connected the charges to November’s midterm elections and linked his prosecution to the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago. “I am never going to stop fighting. In fact, I have not yet begun to fight. They will have to kill me first,” Bannon said.

On Your Radar

Majority of voters view FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home as justified, WSJ poll finds (Wall Street Journal)

Material on foreign nation’s nuclear capabilities seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago (Washington Post)

John Fetterman’s fitness for office is a legitimate issue (National Review)

Dem governors in the big battlegrounds are looking strong — but the GOP is expanding the map (POLITICO)

Biden Administration is placing vending machines filled with drug supplies in rural Kentucky (Free Beacon)

Barr: Justice Department should appeal ‘deeply flawed’ ruling approving special master in Trump documents case (CNN)

Liberals panic as new Politico owner aims to turn outlet ‘nonpartisan’: Looks like CNN has company (FOX News)

Elected officials, police chiefs on leaked Oath Keepers list (AP News)

California narrowly averts electricity crisis as it sets records for energy use amid scorching heat. (New York Times)

Biden’s DOJ embraces bias and anti-religious bigotry (Washington Examiner)

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© Dominic Moore, 2022