A former adviser to Donald Trump claims New York prosecuting him two months before midterm elections is basically election interference.
Steve Bannon noted that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs and NYS Attorney General Letitia James are both Democrats. He said they are prosecuting him on state charges that mirror federal charges he was pardoned for by former President Donald Trump.
The Epoch Times further reported:
“They’ve got a populist revolt that’s out of control, and they’re trying to take me out of this election,” Bannon, host of the “War Room” podcast, told The Epoch Times.
“They were trying to de-platform me and shut me down. It’s not gonna happen.”
Bannon made the comments one day after he appeared in a New York state courtroom in Manhattan on Sept. 8 and pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy relating to a private crowdfunding campaign, known as “We Build the Wall” that sought to create a privately-owned section of the U.S.-Mexico border. He was released without bail.
Prosecutors allege that Bannon defrauded donors of the fundraising drive that raised more than $15 million by diverting more than $100,000 to the campaign’s chief executive, who had pledged not to take a salary.
“It is a crime to profit off the backs of donors by making false pretenses,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a Sept. 8 joint press conference with New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both are Democrats.
Bannon was hit with similar charges by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2020, but he was pardoned by President Donald Trump on his last night before leaving office in January 2021. Presidential pardons, however, do not prohibit state prosecutions.
Two other men who were charged by the DOJ pleaded guilty. The men, Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato, are awaiting sentencing for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They each face up to 20 years in prison. The trial of a third man, Timothy Shea, ended in a mistrial.
Bannon said the latest charges were “clearly political targeting,” noting that none of the other three men were indicted in the New York case.
“I never had an official role with ‘We Build the Wall.’ It’s a separate company,” he said.
The former Breitbart News chief called the case a “total complete joke” and a “complete nothing burger.”
“None of our donors ever had a problem with any of this. ‘We Build the Wall’ is a fantastic project; one of the things I’m most honored to be in,” he said.
With about 60 days to go before the November midterm elections, authorities are singling out Bannon for targeting due to the success of his “War Room” podcast, the former Trump strategist alleged.
He bolstered his claim that Democrats were weaponizing the justice system to remove Trump supporters through prosecution when he revealed homes of 35 Trump “MAGA leaders” and associates were allegedly raided by FBI agents Thursday.
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