Donald Trump’s former White House political adviser Steve Bannon has surrendered to police in New York, where he faces state charges he defrauded donors to an anti-immigrant nonprofit called We Build the Wall. Bannon was first charged by federal prosecutors in 2020 but received a pardon from Donald Trump ahead of his trial. Two of Bannon’s co-defendants later pleaded guilty to the federal charges. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the new state charges Thursday, saying Bannon illegally pocketed donations that were given to fund sections of a barrier wall to be built along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Attorney General Letitia James: “He basically stole millions of dollars to line his own pocket and those of other politically connected people. And today he and We Build the Wall are being charged for defrauding these donors out of more than $15 million and for laundering the proceeds to further advance and to conceal the fraud.”