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Steve Bannon charged with fraud in border wall campaign
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Steve Bannon was charged with fraud today. Here's what we know.
Steve Bannon, President Trump’s former campaign adviser, faced federal prosecutors today after he was arrested on a boat.
Here’s what you need to know about Bannon’s legal troubles:
- The charges: Bannon and three others were charged with defrauding donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of a fundraising campaign purportedly aimed at supporting Trump’s border wall — making him the latest of Trump’s associates to find himself on the wrong side of the law.
- His court appearance: Bannon’s lawyer entered a plea of not guilty to the charges contained in the unsealed indictment today. Appearing by video conference, Bannon wore a white mask and a button down shirt. He was sunburned and rocked back and forth in his chair. Bannon’s image was projected on the screen in one box with a law enforcement official in the corner of the screen.
- Where Bannon was found: He had been on a mega-yacht in Long Island Sound near Connecticut for the last several weeks, people familiar with the situation said. Bannon would tell people he was “at sea.” The Coast Guard transported agents from the Department of Justice to the yacht and performed a safety sweep of the vessel just before the arrest, Chief Warrant Officer Mariana O’Leary told CNN.
- What it took to arrest him: O’Leary said the mission involved a 45-foot response boat from its station in New London, Connecticut, and a multi-mission helicopter from its base at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The MH-60J helicopter helped officials determine where the yacht was located, O’Leary said. She described the boat as a medium-sized vessel often used for search and rescue and law enforcement duties.
- Bannon’s relationship with Trump: Bannon was once a big voice inside the White House as Trump’s chief strategist, until he was ousted by the President in August 2017. He had helped run Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and was credited as a driving force behind Trump’s populist appeal, nationalist ideology and controversial policies. Trump fired him in 2017, and the two had a falling-out in 2018 after Bannon was quoted calling an infamous 2016 meeting of a Russian lawyer and Trump campaign officials “treasonous.”
Bannon: "This entire fiasco is to stop people who want to build the wall"
Steve Bannon exited the Federal courthouse in Manhattan moments ago and removed his face mask as soon as he got through the doors’ threshold.
He waved at supporters before talking to reporters.
Bannon pleaded not guilty earlier today after federal prosecutors charged him and three others with defrauding donors in a border wall fundraising campaign.
Watch:
The US Coast Guard transported law enforcement to Bannon arrest
The United States Coast Guard said it assisted in the arrest of Steve Bannon, who was on a mega-yacht in Long Island Sound near Connecticut.
The Coast Guard transported agents from the Department of Justice to the yacht and performed a safety sweep of the vessel just before the arrest, Chief Warrant Officer Mariana O’Leary told CNN.
She said the mission involved a 45-foot response boat from its station in New London, Connecticut, and a multi-mission helicopter from its base at Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The MH-60J helicopter helped officials determine where the yacht was located, O’Leary said. She described the boat as a medium-sized vessel often used for search and rescue and law enforcement duties.
She said the Coast Guard frequently operates in the Long Island Sound.
Publicly available aircraft tracking data shows the helicopter flew a circular orbit around the yacht for about an hour early Thursday morning. Coast Guard fact sheets say this type of helicopter carries electro-optical and infrared sensors for surveillance.
Some background: Bannon was charged with defrauding donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of a fundraising campaign purportedly aimed at supporting President Trump’s border wall — making him the latest of Trump’s associates to find himself on the wrong side of the law.
Bannon had been on the boat for the last several weeks, people familiar with the situation said. He would tell people he was “at sea.”
Judge sets bail for Bannon that includes $5 million bond and he will be released today with conditions
Judge Stewart D. Aaron set bail for Steve Bannon that includes a $5 million bond to be secured by $1.75 million in cash or real property and two financially responsible persons as co-signers.
Bannon will also receive pretrial supervision and have his travel restricted to the southern and eastern districts of New York, the district of Connecticut and the district of Washington, DC.
Bannon will also be restricted from using private airplanes, yachts or boats without permission from the court.
Bannon will be released Thursday on these conditions, with the terms of the bond due by Sept. 3.
Steve Bannon pleads not guilty
Steve Bannon’s lawyer has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges contained in the indictment unsealed against Trump’s former campaign adviser on Thursday.
Prosecutor Nicolas Roos said Bannon was arrested this morning around 7:15 a.m. ET on a “yacht” off the coast of Connecticut. He was transported to New York, where he arrived several hours later.
From the courthouse: Appearing by video conference, Bannon was wearing a white mask and a button down shirt. He was sunburned and rocked back and forth in his chair.
Bannon’s image was projected on the screen in one box with a law enforcement official in the corner of the screen. In another box the judge presided from a court room. Lawyers were not visible — they dialed in for the proceeding.
SOON: Bannon will have his initial court appearance
A court hearing in the case against Steve Bannon is expected at 4 p.m. ET today.
Bannon is not expected to be physically present in court for the initial appearance. Instead, he’s expected to appear virtually.
Earlier today, federal prosecutors charged Bannon and three others with defrauding donors in a border wall fundraising campaign. All four of the defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Bannon arrested on exiled Chinese dissident's yacht, law enforcement officials say
Steve Bannon was arrested at 7:30 a.m. Thursday near Westbrook, Connecticut, on the yacht of exiled Chinese dissident Guo Wengui, according to two law enforcement officials.
Earlier Thursday, CNN reported that a law enforcement official said Bannon was arrested on a boat Thursday morning off the Eastern coast of Connecticut.
2 members of Bannon's border wall funding group raided by federal agents this morning
An associate of the border wall crowdfunding group “We Build the Wall” told CNN Thursday federal agents “raided” his recreational vehicle in Mesquite, Nevada, hours before prosecutors unsealed charges accusing others involved in the group, including Steve Bannon, of defrauding donors.
Dustin Stockton and Jennifer Lawrence — who are listed on the group’s website as part of the We Build the Wall team — were both served with warrants for their cellphones and subpoenas to appear before a grand jury, Stockton told CNN.
He and Lawrence have not been charged.
Stockton said federal agents told him the warrants and subpoenas came from the Southern District of New York.
The raid occurred on the same day four of their former associates at We Build the Wall, including Bannon, were arrested and indicted by New York prosecutors for allegedly using hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to the online crowdfunding campaign for personal expenses, among other things.
Bannon and another defendant, Brian Kolfage, promised donors that the campaign — which ultimately raised more than $25 million — was “a volunteer organization” and that “100% of the funds raised…will be used in the execution of our mission and purpose,” according to the indictment unsealed Thursday.
But instead, according to prosecutors, Bannon, through a non-profit under his control, used more than $1 million from We Build the Wall to “secretly” pay Kolfage and cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bannon’s personal expenses.
Stockton told CNN that he a Lawrence are “still deciding on {legal} counsel.” He said they “remain extremely proud that we were able to deliver a segment of wall for all the people who donated to WBTW with the project in Sunland Park.”
“We are skeptical of the timing of the allegations but cannot comment on any specifics at this time,” he added.
Here's what one of the defendants bought with the donations, according to prosecutors
Steve Bannon and three other defendants are accused of defrauding donors in a border wall fundraising campaign, allegedly using hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to an online crowdfunding campaign called We Build the Wall for personal expenses, among other things.
Bannon and another defendant, Brian Kolfage, promised donors that the campaign, which ultimately raised more than $25 million, was “a volunteer organization” and that “100% of the funds raised…will be used in the execution of our mission and purpose,” according to the indictment unsealed Thursday.
But instead, according to prosecutors, Bannon, through a non-profit under his control, used more than $1 million from We Build the Wall to “secretly” pay Kolfage and cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bannon’s personal expenses.
Kolfage, according to the charges, spent more than $350,000 of the donations on personal expenses, including…
- Cosmetic surgery
- A luxury SUV
- A golf cart
- Payments toward a boat
- Home renovations
- Jewelry
- Personal tax payments
- Credit card debt.
Steve Bannon was charged with fraud today. Here's what we know right now.
Steve Bannon, Trump’s former campaign adviser, was charged today with defrauding donors in a border wall fundraising campaign.
If you’re just reading in, here’s what we know about the case so far:
- What prosecutors say happened: Bannon and three other people —Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato, and Timothy Shea — were indicted for allegedly using hundreds of thousands of dollars, donated to an online crowdfunding campaign called We Build the Wall, for personal expenses among other things.
- The charges: All four of the defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
- About Bannon’s arrest: Bannon, 66, was arrested on a boat Thursday off the Eastern coast of Connecticut according to a law enforcement official. Bill Burck, an attorney for Bannon, declined to comment.
- Bannon’s relationship with Trump: Bannon was once an influential voice inside the White House as Trump’s chief strategist, until he was ousted by the President in August 2017. He had helped run Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and was credited as a driving force behind Trump’s populist appeal, nationalist ideology and controversial policies. Trump fired him in 2017, and the two had a falling-out in 2018 after Bannon was quoted calling an infamous 2016 meeting of a Russian lawyer and Trump campaign officials “treasonous.”
- What happens next: Bannon will make his initial court appearance in New York later Thursday, according to the US attorney’s office.
Biden campaign: "No one needed a federal indictment to know that Steve Bannon is a fraud."
During a press briefing with reporters, the Biden campaign’s Kate Bedingfield reacted to Steve Bannon’s indictment saying, “No one needed a federal indictment to know that Steve Bannon is a fraud.”
She continued to draw a contrast between Biden and President Trump saying, “Look, I think the American people deserve better. They deserve somebody like Joe Biden in the White House, somebody who’s going to look out for their families, who’s going to put the interests of the country first.”
Trump claims he knew "nothing" about border wall fundraising project
President Trump said he felt “very badly” that his former campaign manager and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was arrested and indicted Thursday.
“Well I feel very badly. I haven’t been dealing with him for a long period of time,” Trump said, noting that he was “involved in our campaign” and “for a small part of the administration very early on.” Bannon served in the Trump administration from the inauguration through August 2017.
As for the border wall fundraising project at the center of the indictment, Trump claimed he knew “nothing” about it and did not know the people involved with it, even though other key allies are on its board.
“I didn’t know any of the other people, either,” he added, reiterating that, “It’s sad.”
A reporter pressed Trump on the many allies who have been in legal trouble – Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Rick Gates, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, and now, Bannon, and what that says about his judgement. He declined to answer that question, instead repeating misinformation that there was “great lawlessness in the Obama administration, they spied on our campaign illegally.”
He later added that there should not be a privately-financed border wall, and he read about its construction problems, “where it was toppling.”
“I didn’t want to be associated with that, we built a very powerful wall,” he said, calling Bannon’s group’s wall “inferior” and “inappropriate.”
Watch:
Trump calls Bannon's arrest "a very sad thing"
President Trump called the arrest of his former campaign adviser Steve Bannon “a very sad thing.”
Bannon was arrested this morning on a boat off the coast of Connecticut. He was charged, along with three associates, with defrauding donors in a border wall fundraising campaign.
Trump said he didn’t like the project, and called it “showboating.”
Watch:
A look at the relationship between Bannon and Trump
Steve Bannon was once an influential voice inside the White House as Trump’s chief strategist, until he was ousted by the President in August 2017.
He helped run Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, alongside now-White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, and was credited as a driving force behind Trump’s populist appeal, nationalist ideology and controversial policies.
A year later Trump fired Bannon, furious from an interview in which Bannon was quoted contradicting Trump on North Korea, and claiming he had authority to make personnel changes at the State Department.
In 2018 the two men had a falling-out after Bannon was quoted calling an infamous 2016 meeting of a Russian lawyer, Donald Trump Jr., then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner “treasonous.”
Before joining Trump’s campaign, Bannon was the former executive chairman of Breitbart, a right-wing news site that traffics in incendiary headlines, many of them outwardly racist, misogynist, anti-Semitic. Bannon returned to Breitbart after leaving the White House, but left again in 2018.
What we know about the We Build the Wall campaign
Former Trump adviser Steven Bannon —along with three other men — have been charged with defrauding donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of a fundraising campaign purportedly aimed at supporting Trump’s border wall.
According to the indictment, Bannon and another defendant, Brian Kolfage, promised donors that the campaign, which ultimately raised more than $25 million, was “a volunteer organization” and that “100% of the funds raised…will be used in the execution of our mission and purpose,” according to the indictment unsealed Thursday.
But instead, according to prosecutors, Bannon, through a non-profit under his control, used more than $1 million from We Build the Wall to “secretly” pay Kolfage and cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bannon’s personal expenses. And Kolfage, according to the charges, used more than $350,000 of the donations for his personal use.
The indictment describes a slight-of-hand perpetrated by the defendants on donors to the We Build the Wall group.
In February, CNN reported that We Build the Wall had communicated with the administration on plans to build a wall along the southern border and donate it to the US government.
We Build the Wall controversy: We Build the Wall Inc., a group founded by Air Force veteran Kolfage, gained national attention after raising millions of dollars in a GoFundMe campaign, and launching two private wall projects in New Mexico and Texas. Those projects were constructed on private land — a strategy that largely shielded them from government intervention.
Kolfage has come under scrutiny for his inflammatory rhetoric and promises. In the past, he’s been accused by some of his donors as overpromising and underdelivering. Other allegations against him include being clandestine in his operations and unwilling to disclose certain logistics. He often uses his Twitter account to spar with or confront liberal critics. In the past, Kolfage has defended himself against criticism.
He previously told CNN that his group is a “game-changer for border security” and is “trying to make America safer.”
Bannon was arrested on a boat off the Connecticut coast, law enforcement official tells CNN
Steve Bannon was arrested on a boat Thursday morning off the Eastern coast of Connecticut, according to a law enforcement official.
The former Trump campaign adviser was indicted, along with three others, in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars in a border wall fundraising campaign.
Justice Department was briefed before Bannon indictment, officials say
A law enforcement official says personnel at Justice Department headquarters were briefed before the indictment of Steven Bannon and others. The official, however, didn’t say when the briefing occurred.
Justice officials have said Attorney General William Barr’s June ouster of Geoffrey Berman as Manhattan US Attorney was not related to the handling of any particular case.
Here are the other Trump associates who have been indicted or found guilty
The orbit of former advisers and associates of President Trump who have been indicted or found guilty grew Thursday when Steve Bannon, his former senior adviser and chief strategist, was arrested and indicted.
The crimes they have been accused of are different, and stem from a constellation of alleged criminal conspiracies.
Here’s a list:
Steve Bannon:
- Trump’s political guru and onetime chief strategist, Bannon was charged Thursday with defrauding donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars in a border wall fundraising campaign. Once among Trump’s most trusted advisers — with walk-in privileges to the Oval Office — Bannon left the White House in 2017 on bad terms and, for a period, was on the outs with Trump.
- In an interview with the New York Times earlier this year, Trump said he hadn’t spoken with his former campaign manager “in a year and a half.” He did, however, offer praise for Bannon as a top advocate during his impeachment who caught his attention.
- Trump has praised him more recently, including in an interview on Fox News this summer: “Steve Bannon’s been much better not being involved. He says the greatest president ever. I mean, he’s saying things that I said, “Let’s keep Steve out there, he’s doing a good job.” But they’re all being — they’re all involved.”
Michael Cohen:
- Cohen, Trump’s onetime lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty in 2018 to tax fraud, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations for facilitating hush money payments to two women who alleged past affairs with the President. Trump has denied having affairs with the women.
- Last week, Cohen released the foreword of his upcoming book, teasing what he claims is a behind-the-scenes exposé of his acts as Trump’s fixer — from stiffing contractors on a business deal to lying about extra-marital affairs to the President’s attempts to “insinuate himself into the world of President Vladimir Putin.”
Paul Manafort:
- Trump’s onetime campaign chairman had been in jail since June 2018 before being released to home confinement amid the coronavirus pandemic. He is serving a 7.5-year sentence after being convicted by a jury of tax and banking crimes in August 2018, then pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
- As part of a plea deal cut in September 2018, Manafort admitted to money laundering, tax fraud and illegal foreign lobbying connected to his years of lucrative work for Ukrainian politicians, as well as defrauding banks to supplement his income with cash through mortgages. He also agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors from then-special counsel Robert Mueller’s office — before lying during those interview sessions.
Rick Gates:
- A onetime deputy campaign chairman for Trump, Gates was sentenced to 45 days in jail and three years probation in 2019 after admitting to helping Manafort conceal $75 million in foreign bank accounts from their years of Ukraine lobbying work. Gates shared searing details about Trump’s efforts in 2016 with special counsel Robert Mueller.
Roger Stone:
- Stone, Trump’s friend and political adviser, was convicted of crimes that included lying to Congress in part, prosecutors said, to protect the President. Trump commuted his sentence this summer days before Stone was set to report to a federal prison in Georgia.
- Stone was convicted last year of seven charges — including lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing a congressional committee proceeding — as part of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Among the things he misled Congress about were his communications with Trump campaign officials — communications that prosecutors said Stone hid out of his desire to protect Trump.
Michael Flynn:
- Trump’s onetime national security adviser, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his talks with the then-Russian ambassador about approaches that would undermine Obama administration policy before Trump took office.
- The case has become a political lightning rod, with Trump and Flynn both saying he’s been treated unfairly by the judge and the prosecutors who cut his plea deal. Trump has not ruled out a pardon for Flynn.
There are also some people further out in Trump’s orbit who have been indicted or found guilty:
- George Papadopoulos: A onetime campaign aide, Papadoloulos served 12 days in prison for lying to investigators about his contact with individuals tied to Russia during the 2016 campaign.
- George Nader: An informal campaign foreign policy adviser, Nader was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a federal judge in Virginia stemming from his convictions on child sex charges.
- Chris Collins: The first member of Congress to endorse Trump, Collins was sentenced to 26 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges in an insider trading case.
If convicted, Steve Bannon could be in jail "for many, many years," CNN analysts says
“In a lot of ways this is fraud 101 blown up because [of] the massive amounts we’re talking about here,” CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said about federal prosecutors charging Steve Bannon and three others with defrauding donors in a border wall fundraising campaign.
How strong is the evidence? “This should be very provable,” Honig told CNN’s Jim Sciutto.
“You can pick up clues from the indictment. And in the indictment, the SDNY talks about how they have fake invoices and sham vendor arrangements. That tells me the SDNY has those documents,” he added, referencing the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
White House declines to comment on Bannon's indictment
White House director of strategic communications Alyssa Farah did not comment on the arrest and indictment of former Trump campaign adviser Steve Bannon.
She told the pool: “I refer you to DOJ, this is not a White House matter.”
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