史蒂夫·班农，前总统的前政治顾问唐纳德·特朗普周四，他在曼哈顿刑事法庭对欺诈“我们建造隔离墙”筹款活动捐款人的指控表示不服，该筹款活动是为了在美墨边境修建一堵墙。
六项指控的起诉书指控班农和“我们建造隔离墙”本身犯有两项洗钱罪，最高可判处5至15年监禁。除了一项串谋诈骗的轻罪外，还有一项串谋诈骗的重罪。
班农在提审后被释放，并计划于10月4日返回法庭。
“我要留下来抗争到底，”他在离开法院时告诉记者。"在这个案件中，我恳求你记住无罪推定."
周四早些时候，当他到达法院向当局投降他告诉记者，这些指控都是“离选举还有60天”
“这是一个讽刺，就在这个城市的市长有一个代表团在边境上的那一天，他们正在迫害试图在边境上阻止他们的人，”班农说，他指的是纽约市市长埃里克·亚当斯在德克萨斯州州长格雷格·艾伯特决定前往德克萨斯州后派遣的一个事实调查代表团巴士移民到纽约。
曼哈顿地区检察官办公室提出的州指控类似于联邦指控班农获得了特朗普的赦免，并声称班农和“我们建墙”从曼哈顿的430名捐助者那里骗取了33，600美元。起诉书称，整个纽约州有超过1.1万名捐款人被骗走了逾73万美元。
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's White House chief strategist Steve Bannon arrives at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York, Sept. 8, 2022.
安德鲁·凯利/路透社
特朗普的赦免仅适用于联邦案件，并不排除州指控。
起诉书援引班农在2019年6月24日的筹款活动上告诉捐助者，“记住，你给的所有钱都用来修建隔离墙。”
曼哈顿地区检察官阿尔文·布拉格(Alvin Bragg)在周四下午宣布指控的新闻发布会上说，我们建造隔离墙是在“虚假借口”的基础上从全国各地的捐助者那里筹集了1500万美元，理由是组织者承诺该组织的主席不会拿工资。
相反，该运动的主席布莱恩·科尔法格(Brian Kolfage)收到了班农秘密提供给他的25万美元的薪水，班农“指示”我们建造隔离墙，将数万美元转移到他控制的一个非营利组织，然后该组织支付给科尔法格，“从而掩盖了资金的来源，”布拉格说。
布拉格说:“通过向捐赠者撒谎来获利是一种犯罪，在纽约，你将被追究责任。”。“据称，斯蒂芬·班农是一个数百万美元计划的设计师，诈骗了全国数千名捐款人——包括数百名曼哈顿居民。”
“Bannon先生利用其捐助者的政治观点获得数百万美元，然后挪用这些钱。纽约总检察长莱蒂夏·詹姆斯(Letitia James)补充说，他的办公室参与了调查。
佛罗里达州的科尔法格和安德鲁·巴多拉托在联邦案件中与班农一起被起诉认罪因为他们涉嫌参与诈骗“我们建造隔离墙”的捐助者。
第四名被告蒂莫西·谢伊在一起案件中受审以无效审判告终。
科尔法格和巴多拉托没有在国家起诉书中被点名，但被称为第一和第二共谋者，这表明他们本可以帮助曼哈顿检察官对班农立案。
联邦起诉书称，四人组涉嫌将通过“我们建造隔离墙”筹集的2500万美元中的一部分用于个人支出，包括一辆豪华SUV、一辆高尔夫球车和整容手术。
“被告诈骗了成千上万的捐助者，利用他们资助边境墙的兴趣筹集了数百万美元，并谎称所有这些钱都将用于建设，”时任美国检察官奥黛丽·斯特劳斯在2020年宣布指控时表示。
“我唯一的目的是筹集资金，并将这些资金捐赠给联邦政府，”科尔法格在联邦案件中告诉法官。
“你承诺100%的钱将用于建造那堵墙?是这样吗?”安娜丽莎·托雷斯法官问道。
“是的，大人，”科尔法格回答道。
“在为自己保留了那一大笔钱之后，你没有告诉国税局你收到了这笔钱。是这样吗?”托雷斯问道。
“是的，大人，”科尔法格回答。
班农周四的自首使他成为特朗普赦免的第三名被告，随后面临曼哈顿地区检察官办公室提出的指控。
特朗普的前竞选老板保罗·马纳福特(Paul Manafort)被指控实施一项为期两年的计划，以向多家银行进行欺诈性陈述为基础，获得超过1900万美元的住宅抵押贷款。纽约上诉法院最终驳回了这个案子认为这太类似于Manafort的联邦定罪，因此一罪不二审。
在针对班农的州案中，一罪不二审预计不会适用，因为从未召集陪审团就“我们建造了隔离墙”的联邦欺诈指控进行权衡。
肯·库尔森(Ken Kurson)是《纽约观察家报》(New York Observer)的前编辑，贾里德·库什纳的助手，鲁迪·朱利安尼的演讲稿撰写人，他在一起联邦网络跟踪案件中被特朗普赦免。库尔森最终认罪两项州级轻罪指控他监视前妻的电脑。
库尔森将于下周返回法庭，因此法官可以确保他遵守他的社区服务。
特朗普在任期的最后时刻赦免了库尔森，但当时的曼哈顿地区检察官Cy Vance在七个月后宣布了一项起诉书，指控库尔森窃听和非法侵入计算机。
根据起诉书，库尔森在2015年偷偷从他在《观察家报》的工作电脑上安装了间谍软件。
2021年宣布对库尔森的指控时，万斯在一份声明中说:“我们不会接受总统赦免，因为这是纽约有关系的人的出狱卡。”
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon pleads not guilty to defrauding border wall donors
Steve Bannon, a onetime political adviser to former PresidentDonald Trump, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan criminal court Thursday to charges of defrauding donors to the "We Build the Wall" fundraising campaign for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The six-count indictment charges Bannon and "We Build the Wall" itself with two counts of money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison. There are additional felony counts of conspiracy and scheme to defraud along with one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to defraud.
Bannon was released following his arraignment and is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 4.
"I'm going to stay and fight this," he told reporters as he left the courthouse. "With this case, I'm begging you to remember the presumption of innocence."
Earlier Thursday, as he arrived at the courthouse tosurrender to authorities, he told reporters the charges were "all about 60 days to the election."
"This is an irony, on the very day the mayor of this city has a delegation down on the border, they are persecuting people here who try to stop them on the border," Bannon said, referring to a fact-finding delegation New York City Mayor Eric Adams has sent to Texas following the decision by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tobus migrants to New York.
The state charges, brought by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, resemble federal charges for whichBannon received a pardon by Trump, and allege that Bannon and "We Build the Wall" defrauded 430 Manhattan-based donors out of $33,600. Across New York state, there were more than 11,000 donors defrauded out of more than $730,000, according to the indictment.
The pardon by Trump only applied to the federal case and does not preclude the state charges.
The indictment quotes Bannon telling donors at a June 24, 2019, fundraising event, "Remember, all the money you give goes to building the wall."
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, speaking at a news conference announcing the charges Thursday afternoon, said that We Build the Wall raised $15 million from donors across the country based on "false pretenses," citing a pledge organizers made that the group's president would take no salary.
Instead, the campaign's president, Brian Kolfage, received a salary of $250,000 that was secretly funneled to him by Bannon, who "directed" We Build the Wall to transfer tens of thousands of dollars to a nonprofit that he controlled, which then paid Kolfage, "thereby obscuring the source of funds," according to Bragg.
"It is a crime to turn a profit by lying to donors, and in New York, you will be held accountable," Bragg said. "As alleged, Stephen Bannon acted as the architect of a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud thousands of donors across the country -- including hundreds of Manhattan residents."
"Mr. Bannon took advantage of his donors' political views to secure millions of dollars which he then misappropriated. Mr. Bannon lied to his donors to enrich himself and his friend," added New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office participated in the investigation.
Kolfage and Andrew Badolato, both of Florida, were indicted with Bannon in the federal case andpleaded guiltyin April in connection with their role in the alleged scheme to defraud "We Build the Wall" donors.
A fourth defendant, Timothy Shea, stood trial in a case thatended in a mistrial.
Kolfage and Badolato are not named in the state indictment, but are referenced as co-conspirators 1 and 2, a sign they could have assisted Manhattan prosecutors build their case against Bannon.
The quartet allegedly used some of the $25 million raised through "We Build the Wall" on personal expenses, including a luxury SUV, a golf cart, and cosmetic surgery, the federal indictment said.
"The defendants defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, capitalizing on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars, under the false pretense that all of that money would be spent on construction," then-U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said when the charges were announced in 2020.
"My sole intent was to raise funds and donate those funds to the federal government," Kolfage told the judge in the federal case.
"And you promised that 100% of the money would be used to build that wall? Is that right?" Judge Analisa Torres asked.
"Yes, your honor," Kolfage replied.
"After keeping that large sum of money for yourself, you did not tell the IRS you received the money. Is that right?" Torres asked.
"Yes, your honor," Kolfage answered.
Bannon's surrender Thursday makes him the third defendant pardoned by Trump to subsequently face charges brought by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Paul Manafort, Trump's one-time campaign boss, was charged with running a two-year scheme to obtain more than $19 million in residential mortgage loans based on fraudulent representations to various banks. The New York Court of Appealsultimately threw out the case, deeming it too similar to Manafort's federal conviction and therefore double jeopardy.
In the state case against Bannon, double jeopardy is not expected to apply because a jury was never convened to weigh the federal fraud charges over "We Build the Wall."
Ken Kurson, a former editor of the New York Observer, associate of Jared Kushner and speechwriter for Rudy Giuliani, was pardoned by Trump in a federal cyberstalking case. Kursoneventually pleaded guiltyto two state-level misdemeanors that accused him of spying on his former wife's computer.
Kurson is due back in court next week so the judge can make sure he's complying with his community service.
Trump pardoned Kurson during his final moments in office, but then-Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance announced an indictment seven months later that charged Kurson with eavesdropping and computer trespass.
Kurson, in 2015, surreptitiously installed spyware on his ex-wife's computer from his work computer at the Observer in 2015, according to the indictment.
"We will not accept presidential pardons as get-out-of-jail-free cards for the well-connected in New York," Vance said in a statement at the time the charges against Kurson were announced in 2021.
