Steve Bannon, released on bail, called the charges a farce

Reporter : Li Yun / Editor : Deming / NTDTV

Ref : https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2020/08/21/a102922969.html / Direct translation

Former White House adviser Stephen Bannon was arrested on 20 August. He and the other three were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering in an online fundraising project built on the US-Mexico border wall. Bannon said in a court in the Southern District of New York that he pleaded not guilty and was released on bail that day. When he stepped out of the courtroom, he said, "The whole farce is to stop them from building a wall."

Bannon, 66, and three other people were charged in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York. The indictment stated that since December 2018, they have raised more than $25 million in the name of the “We Build The Wall” (We Build The Wall) project network fundraising activity for the construction of the southern border wall in the United States, and transferred some of the expenses. For personal use.

The indictment shows: Bannon promised to use all the funds raised for the "We Build Wall" project, but Bannon is inconsistent with his promise on the fundraising webpage.

Among those indicted along with Bannon are Timothy Shea, 49, of Colorado; Brian Kolfage, a 38-year-old Iraqi retiree from Florida, and 56-year-old Florida. Andrew Badolato.

The four appeared in courts in Florida, Colorado and the Southern District of New York on the 20th. All four were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money.

Bannon said in the Southern District Court of New York that he pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. federal prosecutors and Bannon’s lawyers reached an agreement on bail of 5 million U.S. dollars, and the judge released him.

However, Bannon was restricted to travel between New York and Washington, New York, Washington, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut and other places related to official business, and was not allowed to use private jets or ships without permission.

The video shows that Bannon smiled as he walked out of the courtroom and said: "The whole farce is to stop people who want to build walls."

Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press on the 20th that he learned of the investigation into Bannon a few months ago, but he was not told whether President Trump knew about it.

Earlier that day, Trump said in response to the incident at the White House: "I feel sorry. I haven't dealt with him for a long time. This is a very sad thing for Bannon." He added, "I don't like that project. I think it's for showing off."

White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement that the president “has always believed that the wall must be a government project, and that it is too large and complex to be undertaken privately.”

She added, “Due to the excellent work of our Army Corps of Engineers, the Trump administration has built a 300-mile border wall and will complete nearly 500 miles by the end of this year. Our southern border is safer than ever before.”