Alvin Bragg May Deal More Severe Blow to Steve Bannon

Conservative media personality Steve Bannon was recently ordered to report to prison next month for defying a congressional subpoena, but he may be in for a more severe blow if found guilty in a separate case brought on by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Bannon, former White House chief strategist under ex-President Donald Trump’s administration and a leading voice in Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, was found guilty by a federal jury in July 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with an October 2021 subpoena from the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. The committee investigated the events surrounding the riot at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, and Trump’s alleged role in it.

Bannon’s legal team plans to appeal his conviction to the entire D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals after a panel of appellate judges in the circuit upheld the jury’s verdict.

On Thursday, a federal D.C. judge revoked Bannon’s bail and ordered him to report to prison for a four-month sentence by July 1 at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice. Bannon’s lawyers will have a few weeks to appeal the revocation of his bail.

Meanwhile, Bannon also faces a six-count indictment in New York for an alleged charity fraud scheme. Bragg, who recently won a criminal hush money case against Trump, teamed up with New York Attorney General Letitia James, who won a civil fraud case against Trump in February, to bring the case against Bannon in September 2022. Trump maintains his innocence and has appealed the civil case and plans to appeal the criminal case against him.

Bannon, along with the non-profit We Build The Wall, Inc., was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and scheme to defraud in a scheme dating back to 2019.

Bragg said when the indictment was initially filed that Bannon could receive a maximum of five to 15 years in prison if he is convicted on the most serious charge of the case, Politico reported at the time.

Newsweek reached out to Bannon via text message for comment.

We Build The Wall, Inc., received millions in donations to construct a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border. The indictment alleges that despite the promise to donors that the non-profit’s president and CEO Brian Kolfage—who was not named in the indictment—would “personally not take a penny of compensation from these donations,” he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in fundraiser proceeds, which was allegedly arranged by Bannon, who was the chairman of the advisory board for the nonprofit.

Kolfage previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, among other charges, in federal court. Bannon was not tried in federal court because Trump pardoned him before leaving office. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the New York case and his attorney David Schoen said at a court hearing in September 2022 that Bannon “intends to fight these charges all the way.”