Trial set for Bannon in fundraising accusations
NEW YORK » A May 2021 trial date was set Monday for Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, on charges that he cheated donors to a group seeking to fund a southern border wall.
Bannon, 66, of Washington, D.C., was audible but not visible on a video screen as he appeared for the first time before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, who set a May 24 trial date.
The hearing was notable, too, as a prosecutor said one of Bannon’s co-defendants had made inflammatory claims on social media asserting the prosecution was politically motivated and an assault on the freedom of donors.
In an indictment along with three others, Bannon was charged two weeks ago with unlawfully raising over $25 million for the We Build the Wall campaign.
Prosecutors said thousands of investors were duped into thinking all of their donations would go toward the project, even though Bannon diverted over $1 million, paying salary to one campaign official and personal expenses for himself.
Bannon pleaded not guilty after his Aug. 20 arrest aboard a luxury yacht off the coast of Connecticut. He was freed on $5 million bail by a Manhattan magistrate judge.
As he left the courthouse, he shouted, “This entire fiasco is to stop people who want to build the wall.”
Also appearing Monday only by audio on a video screen were Bannon’s co-defendants, including Brian Kolfage, the project founder and an Air Force veteran who lost both legs and a hand in a mortar attack in Iraq.