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Steve Bannon, a former advisor to the president, claims that his arrest was politically motivated. Early in the Trump Administration, Bannon was a key adviser to the president.
Bannon’s earlier work with Breitbart news made him a respected part of the president’s organization, signaling to allies to the far right that this was a president that respected their views. After eight years of Obama, this was a welcome change of pace for many on the right.
Early in the administration, however, Trump began to pull away from Bannon, before eventually removing him from his spot in the inner circle. As for why, it seems that the constant accusations of Bannon being a white supremacist finally wore on the president.
Not wanting to associate his own image with the ugly specter of racism, Trump welcomed Bannon’s support from a distance. Enter the “We Build the Wall” campaign.
Bannon and two co-founders helped to set up the “We Build the Wall” campaign to help raise funds for Trump’s promised border wall. The much-needed structure to keep dangerous criminals out of the country has been stymied, time and again, by Democratic efforts.
Bannon and the other co-founders sought to help how they could, setting up a fundraiser to help erect the wall.
On Thursday, however, Bannon was arrested for his efforts. Prosecutors in New York allege that Bannon embezzled over one million dollars from the fund for himself and co-founder Brian Kolfage.
According to prosecutors, much of the money was used to pay Kolfage, while Bannon himself used the funds to cover his own personal expenses.
Bannon has been indicted on rather serious charges. Friday, he pled not guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. On his podcast Friday morning, Bannon called the charges against him a “political hit job”.
Moreover, Bannon expressed his belief that the prosecutors were trying to intimidate anyone who publicly supports the president. The charges against Bannon are state charges, and would carry a minimum of 25 years in prison if he were found guilty.
This means that, should he be found guilty, there’s nothing the president could do. Presidential pardons only effect federal charges, not state charges. As such, there is a good chance that Bannon, 66, could spend the rest of his life in jail if he is found guilty on these charges.
For his own part, the former adviser maintains his innocence.
