Steve Bannon pleaded guilty Tuesday in a New York court to fraud charges connected to a scheme that was advertised to fund part of President Donald Trump‘s border wall during his first administration.
The former Trump adviser admitted in a courtroom to one count of scheming to defraud in the first degree stemming from the proposed construction of a private U.S.-Mexico border wall. As part of an agreement, the admission of guilt spares Bannon from any jail time.
Under the agreement, Bannon will receive a three-year conditional discharge and will not be required to pay restitution. His plea to a single count of “scheme to defraud” comes just weeks before his trial was set to begin.
New York Judge April Newbauer asked Bannon if he acknowledged acting “principally and in concert with others” to defraud donors through false promises. “Yes, your honor,” he responded, according to the Independent.
Bannon was initially charged with money laundering, conspiracy, and fraud for his role in the “We Build the Wall” campaign, which raised over $25 million. Prosecutors accused him and others of pocketing donor funds. His co-defendant, Brian Kolfage, was sentenced to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.
Federal prosecutors previously brought similar charges against Bannon, but the case collapsed after Trump granted him a last-minute pardon in 2021. However, Manhattan prosecutors pursued the case independently, alleging the scheme defrauded donors of $15 million.
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Bannon is a central figure in shaping Trump’s political movement with his War Room podcast, which he runs with his scrappy young hosts who help put on the daily political show.
Last year, he was absent from the show for much of the 2024 presidential campaign before he completed a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with subpoenas from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
