Trump ally Steve Bannon's legal troubles: From border wall fund to Jan. 6 contempt

NEW YORK – Steve Bannon, a longtime strategist for former President Donald Trump, was expected to face another criminal charge Thursday.

Bannon, 68, was expected to surrender to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York City for arraignment in a case involving public fundraising for construction of a security wall along the U.S. southern border.

• While the exact charges haven't yet been made public, the case is expected to mirror parts of  an earlier federal indictment that accused Bannon and others of scheming to defraud donors who contributed millions of dollars for construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
• That federal case against Bannon abruptly collapsed after Trump pardoned the veteran strategist before trial.
• Two Bannon co-defendants in the federal case pleaded guilty to criminal charges in April. 
• Bannon will be back in court just weeks after a federal jury in Washington, D.C., found him guilty of contempt of Congress for defying a House committee's subpoena that he provide evidence about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Bannon to face new charge: Trump ally Steve Bannon expects to face new criminal charge in New York

Who is Steve Bannon?

A conservative media executive and political strategist, Bannon was an adviser to Trump's 2016 White House campaign in its race against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He joined the Trump White House team as a strategist. Although he clashed with other White House advisers and stepped down in 2017, he has remained in contact with Trump.

In federal case, Bannon and others were accused of profiting off border wall fund

Although New York prosecutors declined to comment on Bannon or the charges, The Associated Press confirmed the surrender plans, citing a person familiar with the court plans who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

The New York allegations will likely mirror aspects of the previous federal charges against Bannon, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the new development. 

A Bannon statement cited by multiple media organizations said the Manhattan District Attorney's office "has now decided to pursue phony charges against me 60 days before the midterm election" because Bannon's WarRoom, a right-wing online interview and discussion show and podcast, "is the major source of the Maga grassroots movement."

The case is expected to focus on Bannon's role in "We Build a Wall," an organization that focused on one of Trump's signature White House goals: securing the southern border against illegal immigration.

Bannon and three co-defendants were indicted in 2020 in Manhattan federal court on conspiracy to commit wire fraud and other charges. The indictment alleged the men schemed to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors who contributed more than $25 million to a crowdfunding campaign for the border wall project.

The indictment also said Bannon and the others assured donors that all contributions would go toward construction. But Bannon is accused of receiving more than $1 million from "We Build a Wall" through a nonprofit organization he controlled. The indictment said he used the money to pay personal expenses and other costs.

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Trump pardoned Bannon before he left office

Bannon, who pleaded not guilty, was awaiting trial in the waning days of Trump's White House term when the outgoing president issued an unusual decision: pardoning the longtime ally before the case was considered by a jury. Such pardons typically are issued after a conviction.

Trump had said he felt "very badly" for Bannon over the allegations.

After the federal case ended, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, then headed by Cyrus Vance Jr., began investigating the wall fundraising case for potential state criminal charges. Presidential pardons apply only to federal charges, not allegations brought by local prosecutors.

The investigation continued under current Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, culminating in the expected new charges.

2 former Bannon co-defendants pleaded guilty, may face decades in prison

If the outcome of the federal charges against the men initially charged with Bannon are any measure, the Trump adviser could face a difficult defense battle against the expected state allegations.

Two of the We Build a Wall defendants – fundraising co-launcher Brian Kolfage, a veteran who lost three limbs while serving in Iraq, and Andrew Badolato, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist who joined the project – initially denied wrongdoing.

But they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in April. They could face a maximum 20-year prison term on that count. Kolfage and Badolato are scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 14.

The case against the fourth defendant, Timothy Shea, ended in a mistrial in June when a Manhattan federal court jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. In late August, an attorney for Shea filed a motion to delay a retrial and shift the case to a Colorado federal court.

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Contempt of Congress

In a separate federal case in Washington, D.C., Bannon was indicted in November 2021 on one contempt charge stemming from his refusal to appear for a deposition with the House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. A second contempt count involved his refusal to produce documents demanded by the committee.

In part, the committee wanted Bannon to be deposed and produce documents because he was believed to have been in contact with Trump during the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 riot.

A speedy July trial featured just two prosecution witnesses who provided evidence about Bannon's defiance of the House committee's demands. The jury delivered guilty verdicts on both contempt counts after less than three hours of deliberations.

Conviction on each count carries a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, along with a fine of $100 to $1,000.

U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols in early September denied defense motions to dismiss the case and order a new trial. Bannon's sentencing is set for Oct. 21.

Bannon vowed to appeal the convictions as he left the courthouse after the jury verdict. "We may have lost the battle here today, but we haven't lost the war," he said.

That war, however, may now have two legal fronts.

Contributing: Kevin Johnson