--- title: "Fresh off prison release, former Trump adviser Bannon arrives back in court" description: "NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, arrived in court on Tuesday ahead of his trial on criminal fraud charges over a push to fund Trump's signature border wall, weeks after he was released from prison on a separate conviction." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "Newsdeck" author: "Reuters" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-11-12-fresh-off-prison-release-former-trump-adviser-bannon-arrives-back-in-court/" published: "2024-11-12T21:32:35" updated: "2024-11-12T21:32:36" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 447 --- # Fresh off prison release, former Trump adviser Bannon arrives back in court > NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, arrived in court on Tuesday ahead of his trial on criminal fraud charges over a push to fund Trump's signature border wall, weeks after he was released from prison on a separate conviction. By Reuters · Published 12 November 2024, 23:32 SAST · Updated 12 November 2024, 23:32 SAST ## Key points - Steve Bannon, fresh from a brief stint in prison, is gearing up for another round in the legal ring, this time facing charges for allegedly pulling a fast one on donors in his border wall fundraising scheme, while he maintains his innocence and prepares to charm the courtroom with his best "political prisoner" routine. - Steve Bannon faces trial on Dec. 9 for allegedly defrauding donors in a $15 million border wall fundraising scheme. - The former Trump adviser has pleaded not guilty, despite a four-count indictment including money laundering and conspiracy. - Bannon was previously pardoned by Trump on federal charges but remains vulnerable to state prosecution. - His associate, Brian Kolfage, has pleaded guilty to related fraud charges and is currently serving a prison sentence. ## Content - Steve Bannon charged over border wall fundraising push - Former Trump adviser has pleaded not guilty - Bannon released from prison last month in separate case By Luc Cohen Bannon, 70, is scheduled to stand trial starting on Dec. 9 in New York state court in Manhattan. Prosecutors say he deceived donors who contributed more than $15 million in 2019 to a private fundraising drive to build a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border. He has [pleaded not guilty](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N30E23P&linkedFromStory=true). His final pretrial conference before Acting Justice April Newbauer was scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. EST (1915 GMT). Construction of a border wall was a key element of Trump's immigration policies during his presidency, supported by his fellow Republicans but opposed by Democrats and immigrant advocacy groups. Trump again made [cracking down on illegal immigration](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AP8N3JF009&linkedFromStory=true) a centerpiece of his successful [2024 campaign](https://www.reuters.com/topic/event/us-elections/). In the final hours of his first four-year term in January 2021, [Trump pardoned Bannon](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AKBN29N077&linkedFromStory=true) on federal charges brought in 2020 over the same underlying conduct. The following year, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, secured a four-count indictment of Bannon on charges including money laundering, conspiracy and scheme to defraud. Presidential pardons do not prohibit state prosecutions. If Bannon is convicted at trial, Trump would not be able to pardon him after returning to the White House on Jan. 20. According to Bragg's indictment, Bannon promised donors that all their money would go toward building Trump's wall, but he concealed his role in diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars to the drive's chief executive, Brian Kolfage, a decorated U.S. Air Force veteran who had promised to take no salary. Bannon's lawyers have argued that Bannon transferred some funds to entities Kolfage controlled to [reimburse him](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3K60T2&linkedFromStory=true) for reasonable expenses. Kolfage [pleaded guilty](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2WJ2JR&linkedFromStory=true) in April 2022 to federal fraud and tax charges, and is serving a 4-1/4-year prison sentence. Neither he nor two other men indicted alongside Bannon were pardoned by Trump. Bannon was a key adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, then served as his chief White House strategist in 2017 before a falling-out between them, which was later patched up. He also has played an instrumental role in right-wing media. In a separate federal case, Bannon was [convicted at trial](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2Z226Y&linkedFromStory=true) in 2022 of two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress after refusing to turn over documents or testify to a Democratic-led House of Representatives committee that probed the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack. He was released on Oct. 29 from a low-security facility in Danbury, Connecticut, after serving a four-month sentence. He has called himself a "political prisoner" and resumed hosting his "War Room" podcast, known for its fierce criticism of Trump's opponents.