https://www.huffpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-indicted-trump-campaign_n_5f3e7c8ac5b609f4f675a933
50 minutes ago
Former Trump Strategist Steve Bannon Indicted In ‘Build The Wall’ Scheme
The former Trump campaign executive was arrested Thursday morning. A grand jury said he used donated funds to cover personal expenses.
By Hayley Miller and Ryan J. Reilly
Steve Bannon, a former chief strategist in President Donald Trump’s White House, was arrested on Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on federal charges for allegedly using hundreds of thousands of dollars from an online “We Build The Wall” fundraiser to cover his personal expenses.
Bannon and three others ― Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea ― were charged in connection with their roles in “defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign known as ‘We Build the Wall’ that raised more than $25 million,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Thursday morning.
The four defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Kolfage, the founder of “We Build the Wall,” had assured donors that all the money would go toward construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss said in a statement. But the defendants “secretly schemed to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle,” she said.
Bannon, 66, received over $1 million from the crowdfunding campaign, which he funneled through a nonprofit that he operates, according to prosecutors. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of that money reportedly went toward his personal expenses.
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Couldn’t happen to more deserving folks! Although, I’ll have to admit to feeling little sympathy for the alleged “victims” who contributed to Bannon & co’s vile, racist symbolism. Maybe it just illustrates the old saying “no honor among thieves!” No honor among White Nationalists either!
The irony: Immigrants, of all types and statuses, are generally law-abiding, despite the false claims and bogus contrary narratives spread by Trump and his followers. Tump’s White Nationalist buddies: not so much!
This November, vote like your life and our nation’s future depend on it. Because they do!
PWS
08-20-20