Former Trump White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon Charged With Fraud in Border Wall Scheme

I love to see justice served, don’t you? Unfortunately, even under a Republican administration, it seems that justice is served on the regular to conservatives, but not so much to liberals. They seem to get away with nearly everything (e.g. The Obama administration spying on Trump campaign and rioters getting away with looting, beating people, and tearing down statues).

Today, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon and Air Force vet and triple-amputee Brian Kolfage were indicted for fraud. The charges were filed out of the Southern District of New York. Kolfage and Bannon had raised money for the We Build The Wall project.

The pair allegedly defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, of which I was one. Thankfully, I only donated like ten dollars. The GoFundMe raised over $20 million dollars and there was the promise that the money would be transferred to the feds. That did not happen and in 2019 Kolfage started We Build The Wall to build a border wall.

From The Daily Caller:

Kolfage and Bannon raised more than $25 million into their nonprofit group We Build The Wall under the false pretense that all money raised would be spent on construction, the Justice Department said.

“While repeatedly assuring donors that Brian Kolfage, the founder and public face of We Build the Wall, would not be paid a cent, the defendants secretly schemed to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle,” Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement.

Kolfage and Bannon, who served as the advisory board chair of the nonprofit group, “schemed to hide their misappropriation of funds by creating sham invoices and accounts to launder donations and covering up their crimes, showing no regard for the law or the truth,” Inspector-in-Charge Philip Bartlett added.

“This case should serve as a warning to other fraudsters that no one is above the law, not even a disabled war veteran or a millionaire political strategist.”

By routing payments through another nonprofit group under Bannon’s control, Kolfage took more than $350,000 from We Build The Wall for his personal use, while Bannon received over $1 million from the group, according to the Justice Department.

If the allegations are true, both these scammers deserve to go to jail. It is very low to prey upon people’s charitable inclinations.

It’s just sad that all these Trump associates (Steve Bannon, Corey Lewanowski, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn, Michael Cohen, Roger Stone, and other smaller players) keep getting charged with crimes. Whether the charges and convictions are justified or not,  it is not a good look for President Trump.

President Trump told reporters today, 

“I feel very badly. I haven’t been dealing with him for a very long period of time,” Trump told reporters. “I haven’t been dealing with him at all.”

The president said he didn’t “know anything about the project at all” but also said he “didn’t like” it.

“I thought it was being done for showboating reasons,” Trump said.

Reporter: "Respectfully, sir, it's not just Steve Bannon, it's Roger Stone, it's Michael Flynn, it's Rick Gates, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen. What's it say about your judgment that these are the kind of people who you're affiliated with–"

Pres. Trump: "Well I have no idea." pic.twitter.com/ZVyZE1DZZ9

— The Hill (@thehill) August 20, 2020

Hopefully, justice is served in the case. Let’s also hope that justice reigns and that there is equal application of justice under the law regardless of perpetrators’ political affiliations.

More from CNBC:

Bannon pleaded not guilty during a court hearing later Thursday, and he was expected to be released, according to NBC News. Bannon is getting a $5 million bond that is secured by $1.75 million in cash or property that Bannon has to post by Sept. 3. He is not allowed to use private jets or yachts, and he must surrender his passport. His travel will be limited to Connecticut and the New York and Washington, D.C., areas.

Bannon and three associates were indicted in a federal investigation in the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors allege the four defrauded donors by raising “more than $25 million to build a wall along the southern border of the United States,” but some of that money was used for personal gain.

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