Latest news with #WeBuildtheWall
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Musk's Trump War Now Targets ‘Criminal' Bannon
Elon Musk has stepped up his attacks on MAGA warrior Steve Bannon by taking aim at the jail time the former Trump strategist served over the investigation into the January 6 Capitol attack. After firing off a flurry of schoolboy slurs, in which he described Bannon as 'peak r-tard', 'authoritarian', and a 'communist r-tard,' Musk lashed out again on his social media platform, declaring: 'Steve Bannon is a criminal.' The comment came in response to a post by another X user featuring a video from Bannon's 'War Room' podcast. During the podcast, Bannon slammed Musk's government cost-cutting efforts, claimed the Tesla billionaire 'doesn't know anything about the real world', and suggested Trump should seize his company, SpaceX. 'There's plenty of fraud out there, and he didn't find it - this was President Trump's first complaint with the DOGE. Was it all BS?' Bannon said. 'President Trump tonight should sign an executive order calling for the Defense Production Act and seize SpaceX tonight before midnight.' While Bannon, a staunch populist, has always been an ardent skeptic of Musk, a tech billionaire, the MAGA stalwart leaned into his disdain for the former First Buddy after his spectacular blow-up with Trump on Thursday. As part of that feud, Musk had initially threatened to decommission SpaceX, which is vital in helping the US government transport people and cargo to the International Space Station. The new salvo aimed at Bannon was a reference to his four-month prison sentence, which he served last year, after he was convicted on two counts of contempt of Congress. Those charges stemmed from his refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack at the US Capitol in 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the building trying to stop Joe Biden's election victory from being certified. Bannon had also faced state and federal charges relating to an allegedly fraudulent fundraising campaign for Trump, known as 'We Build the Wall'. He was pardoned by Trump on the federal charges but pleaded guilty to a state charge in February.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bannon's guilty plea and the end of the ‘We Build the Wall' fiasco
Far-right media personality Steve Bannon was no doubt relieved when his prison sentence ran its course last year, but the contempt case that put him behind bars did not represent the end of his legal difficulties. There was still the We Build the Wall case in New York, in which Bannon was accused of helping defraud donors. The former White House aide originally pleaded not guilty. As my MSNBC colleague Clarissa-Jan Lim explained, Bannon ultimately changed his mind: 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. For those who might need a refresher, We Build the Wall came into existence partway through Trump's first term, and it was ostensibly created to supplement the Republican White House's efforts to construct barriers along the U.S./Mexico border. While the Trump administration used taxpayer money to construct fencing, We Build the Wall said it would raise private funds from donors in pursuit of the same goal. As a high-profile political player, Bannon's role as a board member of the outfit lent it credibility. It wasn't long before We Build the Wall raised $25 million for the private venture. The project, however, almost immediately ran into troubles. ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported, for example, that structural issues raised concerns that the conservative outfit delivered a defective product. The whole endeavor became so problematic that Trump tried to distance himself from the group and its endeavor. He was, by all appearances, brazenly lying: The Texas Tribune reported that Trump claimed the privately funded border wall 'was built to 'make me look bad,' even though the project's builder and funders are all Trump supporters.' For his part, Bannon told the public that We Build the Wall would function as 'a volunteer organization.' Federal prosecutors disagreed: The Justice Department charged Bannon and his associates in August 2020, alleging that they 'defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, capitalizing on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars, under the false pretense that all of that money would be spent on construction.' In other words, according to prosecutors, We Build the Wall leaders pocketed some of the money they said would go toward the border project. We now know that at least some of those criminal allegations were true: Some of Bannon's former partners pleaded guilty and were sent to prison. Bannon, however, effectively received a get-out-of-jail-free card from his former boss: On the evening of Jan. 19, 2021, Trump's last full day in the White House after losing his 2020 re-election bid, the then-president pardoned Bannon. It was a temporary reprieve: The media personality was also indicted in New York, culminating in his guilty plea and agreement with prosecutors. Trump cannot pardon him Bannon for a conviction in a state criminal case. Whether Bannon's fans hold a grudge now that he's admitted to defrauding donors who trusted him remains to be seen. This post updates our related earlier coverage. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Steve Bannon pleads guilty in New York 'We Build the Wall' case
Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony fraud for helping to defraud donors who were giving money to build a wall at the southern U.S. border. In exchange for the guilty plea in New York criminal court, Bannon, 71, agreed to a conditional discharge and waived his right to appeal. Bannon was sentenced to three years conditional discharge. He will not be allowed to serve as an officer or director of a charity or any charitable organization in New York state, or any fundraising or not-for-profit organization in New York state. He will not be allowed to receive or hold assets for any charitable organizations. He also cannot be arrested during that time period. If he violates the terms of the deal, he could face between 1 1/3 to 4 years behind bars. Judge April Newbauer asked Bannon if he understood the terms of what he agreed to. 'Yes, your honor,' Bannon replied. In a statement, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said, 'This resolution achieves our primary goal: to protect New York's charities and New Yorkers' charitable giving from fraud." Bannon was not repentant after court, and he called Bragg and state Attorney General Letitia James an "existential threat" to the Trump administration, apparently referring to the criminal and civil cases the two had brought against the president. "I'm calling on right now the Attorney General Pam Bondi to begin an immediate criminal investigation into Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, all of it for what they did to President Trump," Bannon said. Bannon was first hit with charges related to the scheme in a different case by federal prosecutors in August 2020. He pleaded not guilty and was pardoned by Trump in the final hours of his first term in office. Prosecutors from Bragg's office charged Bannon in the current case in Aug. 2022, when he was hit with six counts of money laundering, conspiracy and a scheme to defraud. Bannon pleaded not guilty at the time and called the case 'partisan political weaponization of the criminal justice system.' The indictment charged Bannon and others of defrauding contributors who gave money for the construction of a southern border wall during Trump's first term. Prosecutors say he swindled donors who contributed more than $15 million in 2019 as part of a fundraising drive dubbed 'We Build the Wall.' Bannon and the others had said that 100% of the donations would go toward building the wall, one of Trump's 2016 campaign promises, and not towards the people running that effort. Federal authorities said Bannon used his nonprofit organization to receive more than $1 million of wall-building funds and used that money to pay the wall group's president. Bannon had been scheduled to stand trial March 4. Trump could not pardon him because he was facing state charges, not federal. Bannon spent four months in jail last year after being found guilty of contempt of Congress for refusing to testify before a House select committee investigating the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. White House records had shown that Bannon had multiple conversations with Trump on or immediately before Jan. 6. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Steve Bannon pleads guilty in border wall funding case
By Jack Queen NEW YORK (Reuters) -Former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon pleaded guilty in New York state court on Tuesday to a fraud charge related to his fundraising campaign for the U.S. president's wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. At a hearing, Bannon, 71, pleaded guilty to one count for scheme to defraud. He was immediately sentenced to three years of conditional release, avoiding jail time. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Bannon was charged with money laundering and conspiracy, and accused of deceiving donors in 2019 who contributed more than $15 million to a private fundraising drive, known as "We Build the Wall," during Trump's first term in the White House. As part of his sentence, Bannon is barred from serving on a New York nonprofit for three years and prohibited from using or selling donor data obtained as part of the scheme. Bannon had previously pleaded not guilty and was scheduled to stand trial in March, under an indictment brought by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bannon did not address the court aside from entering the plea and confirming he understood his rights. Addressing reporters outside the courthouse, Bannon did not mention his own case but attacked Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying they were 'existential threats' to the Trump administration. 'I'm calling on right now the attorney general, Pam Bondi, to begin an immediate criminal investigation into Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, all of what they did to President Trump,' Bannon said. James was not involved in Bannon's case but previously sued Trump for civil fraud and won a nearly half-billion dollar judgment against him. Trump has denied wrongdoing and is appealing. Construction of a border wall was a key element of Trump's immigration policies during his first presidency, supported by his fellow Republicans but opposed by immigrant advocacy groups. The indictment said Bannon promised donors that all their money would go toward building Trump's wall, but concealed his role in diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars to the drive's chief executive Brian Kolfage, a decorated U.S. Air Force veteran who had promised to take no salary. Kolfage pleaded guilty in April 2022 to federal fraud and tax charges, and is serving a 4-1/4-year prison sentence. Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a centerpiece of his second term as president. Bannon was an adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, and served as Trump's chief White House strategist in 2017 before they had a falling out, which was later patched up. Bannon also has played an instrumental role in right-wing media. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan brought similar charges against Bannon in 2020, but Trump pardoned him in his final hours in the White House the next year. Trump cannot pardon Bannon on Bragg's charges because they were brought at the state level.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Steve Bannon Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Steal $15 Million From Border Wall Donors
Steve Bannon, long time Trump ally and former chief strategist, avoided jail time by pleading guilty Tuesday to defrauding donors who thought their money was being used to help build a wall at the southern border of the United States. Bannon was charged with five felony counts and faced up to 15 years in prison. The guilty plea, filed in New York criminal court, allows Bannon to avoid jail time as long as he does not commit any more crimes. The plea comes with a three-year conditional discharge, and waives his right to appeal. Bannon is not required to pay restitution. The right-wing media executive was indicted in 2022 on state charges including money laundering, conspiracy and fraud after creating an online fundraising campaign titled 'We Build the Wall.' The donations were promised to be used to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. According to reports Bannon and his partners raised over $15 million. This was not the first time Bannon was charged with a defrauding scheme. He was charged in 2020 by federal prosecutors in a different case. However, he was pardoned by Donald Trump during the final hours of his first term. Bannon just got out of jail in October after serving a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena. The subpoena came from the House of Representatives' Jan. 6 Committee. The Trump ally said he was 'proud to go to prison' following his conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress. According to reports, Bannon did not seem remorseful following the hearing. In fact, immediately after the hearing Bannon called newly appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch a criminal investigation against the prosecutors in the trial. The investigation was brought against democrats, Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, and New York Attorney General Letitia James for 'what they did to President Trump.' The post Steve Bannon Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Steal $15 Million From Border Wall Donors appeared first on TheWrap.
