President-elect Donald Trump’s staunch ally Steve Bannon, following his release from federal prison two weeks ago, returns to a New York courtroom on Tuesday ahead of a December trial for allegedly defrauding supporters of Trump’s attempt to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Bannon, who was a White House strategist during Trump’s first term in office, pleaded not guilty in 2022 to charges that he defrauded donors to “We Build the Wall,” an online fundraising effort to raise money for Trump’s signature policy.
Bannon told donors their money would 100% go toward building a wall along the U.S. southern border, while prosecutors say some of the $15 million in donations was secretly funneled to the campaign’s president, Brian Kolfage.
Bannon’s trial is scheduled for Dec. 9, but he is trying to push it into January to give his attorney extra time to prepare.
Steve Bannon speaks during a press conference after being release from the Federal Correctional Institution Danbury where he was incarcerated, Oct. 29, 2024, New York.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP
“It’s two years old,” defense attorney John Carman said of the case. “The political significance of the case is behind us.”
The charges, brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, resemble federal charges for which Bannon received a pardon by Trump on Trump’s final night in office during his first term. The pardon only applied to the federal case and did not preclude state charges.
Bannon recently finished serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress charges after he failed to comply with a subpoena to testify before the House select committee that investigated Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.