The president’s former chief strategist was arrested Thursday along with three others.
Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed criminal charges Thursday against Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, and three other men they alleged defrauded donors to a massive crowdfunding campaign that claimed to be raising money for construction of a wall along the U. S.-Mexico border. In a 23-page indictment, prosecutors said Bannon and another organizer, Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage, lied when they claimed they would not take any compensation as part of the campaign, called “We Build the Wall.” Bannon, prosecutors alleged, received more than $1 million through a nonprofit entity he controlled, sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage while keeping a “substantial portion” for himself. The “We Build the Wall” campaign, publicly supported by several of the president’s allies, raised more than $25 million through hundreds of thousands of donors, federal prosecutors said. During the 2016 campaign, Trump promised dozens and dozens of times that, if elected, he would construct a wall along the southern border — funded by Mexico. As president, he has made no headway on getting Mexico to pay for the wall and has tangled with Congress over whether U. S. taxpayers should fund the project either. The We Build the Wall organization offered an outlet for frustrated Trump supporters to voice their continued support for the core campaign promise of Trump’s run for office, including by making financial donations to support its construction. Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea — routed payments from the crowdfunding campaign through the nonprofit and another shell company, disguising them with fake invoices to help keep their personal pay secret. During his political rise, Stephen K. Bannon was a man with no fixed address All four were arrested Thursday and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. With the indictment of Bannon, prosecutors have now brought criminal charges against more than half a dozen people who worked for Trump’s campaign, his administration, or advised him personally. Those who have been convicted or pleaded guilty to federal crimes include Trump’s former campaign chairman, his deputy campaign chairman, his former personal lawyer and his former national security adviser. Some faced similar allegations of personal greed that Bannon must now fight in court. Others were accused of trying to hinder investigations into Trump’s conduct. The president himself has not been accused of any crimes by law enforcement, though special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, whom the Justice Department appointed to examine Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, raised significant questions about whether he had obstructed justice. Trump, meanwhile, has excoriated law enforcement probes of him and those in his orbit, alleging he is being unfairly targeted. Bannon, a law enforcement official said, was taken into custody off the coast of Westbrook, Conn., while aboard a 150-foot yacht called the Lady May owned by a friend and business associate, Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui — a vocal, online critic of the Chinese government who was once close with that country’s intelligence service but is now wanted by authorities in Beijing on charges of fraud, blackmail and bribery. This official, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an active investigation. A Coast Guard boat approached the yacht and disembarked a team to sweep it before federal agents boarded to make the arrest, said Chief Warrant Officer Mariana O’Leary, a Coast Guard spokesperson. Another law enforcement official said that Attorney General William P. Barr was briefed about the matter in advance. Bannon told others he had been cruising aboard the ship for months. At a court appearance later Thursday afternoon, Bannon, through a lawyer, pleaded not guilty. A judge allowed him to be released on $5 million bond, secured by $1.75 million in assets, which he has to post within two weeks. A judge ordered him to surrender his travel documentation and not use private planes or yachts without court permission. Bannon appeared via a video feed from a courthouse jail cell wearing a white mask and button-down shirt, his forehead slightly sunburned. Badolato and Shea, after appearances in Colorado and Florida, were similarly allowed to be released on bond — with restrictions on their travel — pending future court appearances in New York. Bannon,66, served on Trump’s presidential campaign and then as the White House’s chief strategist. He was ousted in the summer of 2017 amid what appeared to be a major falling out with Trump, who derided his onetime confidant as “Sloppy Steve.” An attorney and a spokeswoman for Bannon did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Asked about the matter Thursday, Trump said he felt “very badly” but asserted of Bannon, “I haven’t been dealing with him for a very long period of time.” Trump said he felt the private fundraising effort was “something I very much thought was inappropriate to be doing.” “I don’t like that project,” the president said. “I thought it was being done for showboating reasons.” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump had “no involvement in this project” and pointed to a tweet he issued last month in response to a ProPublica story about a privately funded section of wall, saying: “I disagreed with doing this very small (tiny) section of wall, in a tricky area, by a private group which raised money by ads. It was only done to make me look bad, and perhaps it now doesn’t even work.
