Steve Bannon, ex-Trump adviser and China hawk, pleads not guilty after arrest over funds raised online to build border wall
- Federal prosecutors allege Bannon and three others defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors with online crowdfunding campaign
- Within Trump’s inner circle, Bannon emerged as one of the most strident critics of China, regularly warning confrontation had become inevitable
Steve Bannon, a former White House adviser and one of Washington’s most strident China hawks, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges that he and three others defrauded donors to an online fund meant to support the construction of a wall along the US border with Mexico.
Bannon, who has recently issued frequent calls for confrontation with China over the coronavirus pandemic, was arrested earlier in the day, after reportedly being whisked off the yacht of Chinese billionaire fugitive Guo Wengui. He appeared before a federal judge, while his alleged accomplices Brian Kolfage, a US Air Force veteran, and Andrew Badolato were also scheduled to appear before judges in Florida and another alleged associate, Timothy Shea, would be arraigned in Colorado.
02:30
Former Trump aide Steve Bannon charged with defrauding donors in online border wall fundraiser
President Donald Trump immediately distanced himself from Bannon and the funding drive, called We Build the Wall, by telling White House reporters that he had not “been dealing with him for a very long period of time” and that the project “was being done for showboating reasons”.
“I think it’s a very sad thing for Mr. Bannon,” he said. “I think it’s surprising.”
The federal indictment accuses Bannon of taking more than US$1 million from We Build the Wall, which was launched by Kolfage as an online crowdfunding campaign in 2018 and later became a non-profit entity, through another non-profit organisation controlled by Bannon and using the funds to “secretly” pay Kolfage and cover his own personal expenses.