Steve Bannon, former strategist of former US President Donald Trump and architect of his successful run to the White House in 2016, will surrender to New York authorities to face state charges in a new indictment.
The allegations come more than 18 months after Trump pardoned Bannon in the final hours of his presidency, excusing Bannon of a federal fraud case.
Bannon, 68, and three other men were charged in August 2020 with donor fraud in a $ 25 million (AUD 37 million) private fundraiser known as “We Build the Wall” to help build Trump’s signature wall along the US-Mexico border. border.
Bannon pleaded not guilty to the federal indictment, including charges of embezzlement of nearly US $ 1 million (A $ 1.5 million) in personal expenses. But his indictment was dismissed after Trump pardoned him.
Bannon’s new indictment is issued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The case could mirror parts of the federal wall case, though it’s unclear why the prosecution has yet to be opened, a person familiar with the matter said.
Presidential pardons cover federal charges and do not prevent state court proceedings.
Bannon is expected to appear before the New York state court in Manhattan on Thursday.
He is charged less than two months after being judged contempt by Congress for challenging a subpoena by a House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol.
In a statement late Tuesday, Bannon called the New York case “nothing but a partisan political weapon of the criminal justice system.”
The state investigation into Bannon began under Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance.
Bragg also inherited Vance’s investigations into Trump’s namesake company, the Trump Organization, which, along with longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg, was charged with tax offenses in July 2021.
Weisselberg pleaded guilty to various tax charges in August, and the Trump Organization faces a trial that is expected to begin in October.
Bannon would not be Trump’s first former ally to be indicted in a federal and state court.
In March 2019, Vance filed fraud charges against former Trump campaign president Paul Manafort, similar to the charges for which Manafort was sentenced by federal court and jailed for seven and a half years.
But a New York judge dismissed the charges nine months later because they posed a double risk, or tried someone twice for the same conduct.
Trump pardoned Manafort in December 2020.
The double risk may not apply to the Bannon case because he was never tried on federal charges.
Wall campaign leader Brian Kolfage pleaded guilty to conspiracy of fraud and tax charges in April and is awaiting sentencing.
Another defendant, Andrew Badolato, also pleaded guilty to the plan, while a judge in June declared the trial quashed in the case of the latest defendant, Timothy Shea.
Bannon supported right-wing “America First” populism, including fierce opposition to existing immigration practices, which have become hallmarks of the Trump presidency.
It now runs the popular War Room podcast and hosts guests who deny that Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.