Steve Bannon has pleaded guilty to defrauding donors in a border wall scheme, reversing an earlier not-guilty plea after landing on an agreement with New York prosecutors that will see him avoid a prison sentence.
In a New York courtroom on Tuesday, Bannon pleaded guilty to one count of scheme to defraud in the first degree. He was sentenced to a three-year conditional discharge and waived his right to appeal as part of the plea deal.
Under the agreement with prosecutors, Bannon cannot serve as an officer or director of a charity or not-for-profit group in New York state, nor can he hold assets for any charitable organizations.
Bannon, a longtime adviser to Donald Trump, was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in 2022 on charges of money laundering, scheming to defraud and conspiracy over his alleged role in the “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign. Prosecutors accused Bannon and three others of pocketing donors’ money instead of using all of the funds to build a wall along the southern U.S. border as promised.
Bannon had faced up to 15 years if convicted. Like the president, he has claimed without evidence that the criminal charges against him are politically motivated.
He had also faced federal charges over his role in the scheme but was pardoned by Trump in 2021. Unlike federal charges, the president can’t pardon state charges, so Trump can’t pardon Bannon in the New York state case.
Bannon served four months in prison last year for being in contempt of Congress after he defied a congressional subpoena to testify in the House select committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. He repeatedly sought to appeal his sentence in that case, and even brought his appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, where it was ultimately rejected.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
