By MICHAEL R. SISAK
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s longtime ally Steve Bannon pleaded not responsible Thursday to prices of duping donors who gave cash to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border — a state-level reboot of a federal case that ended with a presidential pardon final 12 months.
Defense lawyer David Schoen entered the plea for Bannon, 68, at his arraignment on prices together with cash laundering, conspiracy and fraud associated to the “We Build the Wall” marketing campaign. Bannon is the second individual to be pardoned by Trump and later charged by the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace for a similar alleged conduct.
Manhattan prosecutors say that whereas Bannon promised all donations would go to constructing the wall, he was concerned in transferring a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} to third-party entities and used them to funnel funds to 2 different individuals concerned within the scheme.
Bannon says the Democratic prosecutor focused him forward of November’s midterm elections as a result of he and his radio present are common amongst Trump’s Republican supporters.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows beneath.
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s longtime ally Steve Bannon turned himself in Thursday to face prices in New York alleging he duped donors who gave cash to construct a wall on the U.S. southern border — a state-level reboot of a federal case that ended with a presidential pardon final 12 months.
Bannon, 68, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon on prices together with cash laundering, conspiracy and fraud associated to the “We Build the Wall” marketing campaign. He is the second individual pardoned by Trump and later charged by the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace for a similar alleged conduct.
Manhattan prosecutors say that whereas Bannon promised all donations would go to constructing the wall, he was concerned in transferring a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} to third-party entities and used them to funnel funds to 2 different individuals concerned within the scheme.
The indictment didn’t establish these individuals by title, however the particulars match these of Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato, who pleaded responsible to federal prices in April.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated that after Bannon was pardoned, Manhattan prosecutors determined they needed to maintain him accountable as a result of the alleged scheme ripped off a whole bunch of Manhattan residents.
“The simple truth is: It is a crime to profit off the backs of donors by making false pretenses,” Bragg stated at a information convention.
Bannon’s New York prices stem from the identical alleged conduct as an tried federal prosecution that ended abruptly, earlier than trial, when Trump pardoned Bannon on his final day in workplace. Manhattan prosecutors additionally charged WeBuildTheWall, Inc., the nonprofit entity that Bannon and his former co-defendants used to solicit donations.
Presidential pardons apply solely to federal crimes, not state offenses. Last 12 months, the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace charged Ken Kurson, a good friend of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, with cyberstalking months after Trump pardoned him in the same federal case.
Like Bannon, Kurson was pardoned early in his federal case, earlier than acquittal or conviction, negating any double jeopardy argument.
Arriving on the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday, Bannon stated it was “an irony” that New York City’s mayor has been objecting to busloads of migrants despatched to town from Texas whereas prosecutors “are persecuting people here, that try to stop them at the border.”
Earlier, Bannon accused Bragg of pursuing “phony charges” in opposition to him, saying the Democratic prosecutor focused him forward of November’s midterm elections as a result of he and his radio present are common amongst Trump’s Republican supporters.
Bannon, in a press release Tuesday, stated federal prosecutors “did the exact same thing in August 2020 to try to take me out of the election,” referring to his arrest months earlier than Trump’s reelection loss. “This is nothing more than a partisan political weaponization of the criminal justice system.”
But New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose workplace labored with Manhattan prosecutors on the case, stated it was about holding “powerful political interests” to account.
“They think they are above the law. And the most egregious of them take advantage of hardworking Americans in the process. Steve Bannon stands out as a perfect example of this blatant inequality,” stated James, a Democrat.
In 2020, federal brokers pulled Bannon from a luxurious yacht off the Connecticut coast and arrested him on prices he pocketed greater than $1 million in donations to the wall-building effort. In all, greater than $25 million was raised, prosecutors stated.
In that case, federal prosecutors alleged Bannon and his co-defendants capitalized on public fervor over border safety — a pillar of Trump’s presidential marketing campaign — and tricked hundreds of individuals into considering 100% of their donations would go to constructing a wall alongside the 1,933-mile (3,110-kilometer) U.S.-Mexico line.
Instead, in line with federal prosecutors, Bannon used a number of the cash to pay private bills for himself and a secret wage to Kolfage, a “We Build the Wall” co-founder.
“All the money you give goes to building the wall,” Bannon advised donors at a June 2019 fundraising occasion, in line with the New York indictment unsealed Thursday. Kolfage, who is just not charged within the state case, repeatedly pledged: “I won’t take a penny from these donations, not a penny,” the indictment stated.
Bannon, who had pleaded not responsible to the federal prices, was dropped from the federal case when Trump pardoned him.
Kolfage, a U.S. Air Force veteran who misplaced each legs in a mortar assault in Iraq, and Badolato, a Florida financier, had been scheduled to be sentenced this week, however that was not too long ago postponed to December. A 3rd defendant’s trial resulted in a mistrial in June after jurors stated they might not attain a unanimous verdict.
In one other case not coated by Trump’s pardon, Bannon was convicted in July on contempt prices for defying a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 revolt on the U.S. Capitol. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October and faces as much as two years in federal jail.
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Associated Press author Jennifer Peltz contributed. Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak. Send confidential ideas by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”