Report: Trump expected to pardon former chief strategist Steve Bannon
President Donald Trump is reportedly going to pardon his former chief strategist as one of his final acts in office, according to CNN and Bloomberg News.
BREAKING: Trump is likely to grant Steve Bannon a pardon, sources tell me, ending federal prosecution of the president’s former strategist for allegedly defrauding donors to a group that sought to build a wall on the Mexico border. Story out soon.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) January 20, 2021
Steven K. Bannon was charged by New York federal prosecutors in August with allegedly defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors who gave money to help build a private border wall. The “We Build The Wall” effort raised more than $25 million.
Prosecutors allege the former senior adviser used the campaign’s funds for personal use and attempted to defraud supporters by creating doctored invoices.
So it’s being reported that Trump will pardon his criminal associate, Steve Bannon, who is pending a felony trial in the Southern District of New York for stealing money from Trump’s supporters via a sham “We Build the Wall” charity.
Corrupt to the end.— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) January 20, 2021
Bannon, 67, was arrested while aboard a luxury yacht off the coast of Connecticut and was freed on a $5 million bond.
Officials told CNN that Trump’s decision was not final until he signed off on the paperwork.
Trump is expected to offer pardons and commutations to as many as 100 people in the hours before he leaves office at noon Wednesday, according to those briefed on the plans.
Steve Bannon literally called for Dr. Fauci to be beheaded. https://t.co/Y8hTLDruUf
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) January 20, 2021
Bret Gibson is a TribLive digital producer. A South Hills resident, he started working for the Trib in 1998. He can be reached at bgibson@triblive.com.
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