Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist for Trump, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of defrauding donors who contributed to the “We Build the Wall” campaign. The plea deal, reached in a Manhattan criminal courtroom, spares Bannon from immediate jail time—but only if he adheres to the conditions set by the court.
As part of the agreement, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will recommend that Bannon avoid prison as long as he complies with a three-year ban on fundraising for charitable organizations with assets in New York State. However, if he fails to follow the terms, Bannon could face a prison sentence ranging from just over a year to four years.
“This resolution achieves our primary goal: to protect New York’s charities and New Yorkers’ charitable giving from fraud,” Bragg said in a statement. “New York has an important interest in rooting out fraud in our markets, our corporations, and our charities, and we will continue to do just that.”
Prosecutors accused Bannon of playing a key role in a scheme to secretly funnel donor money to the president of “We Build the Wall,” an organization that solicited funds for a privately built barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border. The organization had assured donors that its president was not taking a salary, yet prosecutors found that he received over $250,000 in secret payments.
As chairman of the group’s advisory board, Bannon allegedly helped orchestrate these payments by moving funds through third-party entities, including a nonprofit under his control.
Bannon had previously faced federal charges for similar conduct, but Trump pardoned him before leaving office. However, presidential pardons do not apply to state-level prosecutions, allowing New York prosecutors to bring their own case against him.
