Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President-elect Donald Trump who is accused of defrauding donors in a border wall scheme, will not appear in court until the end of February, a judge ruled Monday.
The trial was scheduled to begin on December 9 in New York, but prosecutors asked for additional financial evidence that they say explains Bannon’s motive for participating in the alleged scheme, and New York State Supreme Court Justice April Newbauer is stepping down as a judge. their motion granted.
Bannon’s trial is now scheduled for February 25, more than a month after Trump’s inauguration.
A Manhattan grand jury indicted Bannon in 2022 on charges of money laundering, fraud planning and conspiracy over his alleged role in the “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign. Prosecutors accused Bannon and three other people of funneling donors’ money into their own pockets instead of using all the money to build a wall along the southern U.S. border.
Bannon faces 15 years in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty and claims the indictment of Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is politically motivated.
The vocal Trump ally previously faced federal charges for his involvement in the scheme, to which he also pleaded not guilty. Trump pardoned Bannon as one of his final acts of his first term as president. Trump cannot forgive Bannon in the New York case.
Bannon recently served four months in prison for contempt of Congress after defying a congressional subpoena to testify in the House committee’s Jan. 6 investigation. He was released the week before Election Day and immediately resumed spreading conspiracy theories about voter fraud.
Bannon will likely play a prominent role in advocating Trump’s hardline agenda through his “War Room” podcast and his influence in MAGA circles. He has also echoed Trump’s call to punish the newly elected president’s political rivals.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
