Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon pleads not guilty to defrauding border wall

Steve Bannon, a onetime political adviser to former President Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan criminal court Thursday to charges of defrauding donors to the “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The six-count indictment charges Bannon and “We Build the Wall” itself with two counts of money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison. There are additional felony counts of conspiracy and scheme to defraud along with one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to defraud.

Bannon was released following his arraignment and is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 4.

“I’m going to stay and fight this,” he told reporters as he left the courthouse. “With this case, I’m begging you to remember the presumption of innocence.”

Earlier Thursday, as he arrived at the courthouse to surrender to authorities, he told reporters the charges were “all about 60 days to the election.”

“This is an irony, on the very day the mayor of this city has a delegation down on the border, they are persecuting people here who try to stop them on the border,” Bannon said, referring to a fact-finding delegation New York City Mayor Eric Adams has sent to Texas following the decision by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to bus migrants to New York.

The state charges, brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, resemble federal charges for which Bannon received a pardon by Trump, and allege that Bannon and “We Build the Wall” defrauded 430 Manhattan-based donors out of $33,600. Across New York state, there were more than 11,000 donors defrauded out of more than $730,000, according to the indictment.

The pardon by Trump only applied to the federal case and does not preclude the state charges.

The indictment quotes Bannon telling donors at a June 24, 2019, fundraising event, “Remember, all the money you give goes to building the wall.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, speaking at a news conference announcing the charges Thursday afternoon, said that We Build the Wall raised $15 million from donors across the country based on “false pretenses,” citing a pledge organizers made that the group’s president would take no salary.

Instead, the campaign’s president, Brian Kolfage, received a salary of $250,000 that was secretly funneled to him by Bannon, who “directed” We Build the Wall to transfer tens of thousands of dollars to a nonprofit that he controlled, which then paid Kolfage, “thereby obscuring the source of funds,” according to Bragg.

“It is a crime to turn a profit by lying to donors, and in New York, you will be held accountable,” Bragg said. “As alleged, Stephen Bannon acted as the architect of a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud thousands of donors across the country — including hundreds of Manhattan residents.”

“Mr. Bannon took advantage of his donors’ political views to secure millions of dollars which he then misappropriated. Mr. Bannon lied to his donors to enrich himself and his friend,” added New York Attorney…