Steve Bannon’s Trial on Border Wall Fraud Charges Postponed Until February

Steven Bannon’s trial on fraud charges relating to the border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border is now postponed until February, a judge ruled this week.
On Monday, Bannon, a former White House chief strategist during President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration, attended the hearing virtually as Judge April Newbauer rescheduled jury selection for February 25, pushing it back from its original date next month. Bannon, who remained mostly silent during the proceedings, responded with a polite “Yes, ma’am” when asked if he understood the requirement to appear in court on the new date.
The trial for Bannon, tied to the former charity We Build the Wall Inc., was originally scheduled to begin on December 9. Bannon had served as chair of the group’s advisory board.
Bannon has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and money laundering in the case, which was brought by Manhattan prosecutors. The state-level charges followed a federal case on similar allegations that was cut short after Trump issued Bannon a pardon while the proceedings were still in its early stages.
The judge postponed the trial after ruling that jurors could hear evidence showing that over $600,000 from the wall charity was used to cover credit card debt accrued by a separate nonprofit linked to Bannon in 2019. Prosecutors successfully pushed to include the evidence, despite objections from the defense, who argued it was irrelevant to the case.
The judge has not yet decided whether the identities of jurors will remain confidential during the trial.
Bannon’s Other Legal Issues
Last month, Bannon was released from prison after serving a four-month sentence on charges of contempt of Congress.
Bannon began his four-month prison sentence on July 1 after he was found guilty in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress for failing to respond to a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Following his release from prison, Bannon spoke about his experience on his War Room podcast, where he described himself as a “political prisoner” who was sent to federal prison by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to “break” him.
“The four months in federal prison, not only didn’t break me, it empowered me,” Bannon said. “I am more energized and more focused than I’ve ever been in my entire life and I can see clearly, just like in 2016 and in 2020, exactly what’s going on here.”
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.