Judge Sets Steve Bannon Criminal Fraud Trial Over Border Wall

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon arrives at a press conference outside the federal correctional institution in Danbury, Con., on July 1, 2024. Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images

A judge ruled that former Trump adviser and campaign manager Steve Bannon must face a New York criminal trial related to a private-backed initiative to fund former President Donald Trump’s U.S.–Mexico border wall.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice April Newbauer, who issued a ruling on the matter on Aug. 23, denied Bannon’s motion to dismiss the charges. Currently, Bannon is being held in a federal prison on contempt of Congress charges and is slated to be released in October.

In the wall case, Bannon was charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office—the same office that charged Trump separately over falsifying business records in 2022—with conspiracy for allegedly deceiving donors, as well as with money laundering. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Bannon’s charges had to do with the “We Build the Wall” fundraiser that went viral via social media in late 2018. The fundraiser was started by U.S. Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage. Some $15 million was donated through the private fundraiser to construct portions of the wall.

Construction of a border wall was a key element of Trump’s 2016 campaign, and his administration built or upgraded more than 400 miles of the barrier when he was in office.

Last month, during a brief court hearing, Newbauer decided that Bannon would go to trial starting on Dec. 9, after prosecutors sought a November trial date. The judge said the November date was too soon, noting that she wanted to allow Bannon enough time to meet with his lawyers to review the case, trial exhibits, and other items.

Prosecutors say that Bannon allegedly promised donors that their money would go toward building the wall, adding that he concealed his role in allegedly funneling thousands of dollars to Kolfage, who had promised to take no salary.

In a motion to dismiss the charges, his lawyers wrote that Bannon sent some funds to entities controlled by Kolfage to reimburse him for some expenses. They also said that more than three miles of the privately funded wall were constructed in Texas and New Mexico.

“Prospective donors to WeBuildTheWall did not care whether Kolfage or his entities received a small percentage of their donations,” his lawyers said in the motion to dismiss, dated Dec. 6, 2023. “WeBuildTheWall donors simply wanted a border wall to be built. And, WeBuildTheWall did as it promised—it built miles of wall on the southern border.”

Prosecutors under Bragg countered by saying that Bannon sent emails and text messages indicating that he knew the money was allegedly being used fraudulently.

Last year, Kolfage pleaded guilty to federal tax and fraud charges, saying that he used some $350,000 in fundraised money “inconsistent with the organization’s public representations,” officials said. He received a 51-month prison term, which he is currently serving, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Another man, Andrew Badolato, received a three-year prison term for his alleged role in the scheme, the DOJ also said.

In the leadup to Trump’s 2016 election victory over Hillary Clinton, Bannon was a key adviser and served as his campaign manager at one point. He then served as his chief White House strategist in 2017 before he left the administration.

Since then, Bannon, 70, has hosted a popular podcast, “War Room,” which was started in the early days of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal officials had charged Bannon with two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress before he was convicted at trial in 2022. He was accused of refusing to testify or turn over documents to the Democratic-led Jan. 6 House committee.

Before heading to federal prison to serve out his four-month term, Bannon told reporters on July 1 that he was “proud of going to prison” and accused the DOJ of corruption.

“I’m serving my country right now as a political prisoner,” he told ABC News weeks before that date, adding that being incarcerated will not suppress his voice.

In June, Bannon made an emergency petition to the Supreme Court to delay his four-month prison term, but it was denied by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Reuters contributed to this report.