Steve Bannon pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a fraud charge related to duping donors who gave money to a private effort to build a wall along the US southern border – a case the conservative strategist has decried as a “political persecution”.
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Bannon, a long-time ally of US President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to one scheme to defraud count as part of a plea agreement that spares him from jail time in the “We Build the Wall” scheme. He received a three-year conditional discharge, which requires that he stay out of trouble to avoid additional punishment.
Asked how he was feeling as he left the courtroom, Bannon said: “Like a million bucks.”
Bannon spoke to reporters afterward and called on US Attorney General Pam Bondi to begin an immediate criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Defence lawyer Arthur Aidala called the case against Bannon flimsy, saying it was never about his client.
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“Mr Bannon deserves credit. He wants to fight. Everyone knows Steve Bannon, he always wants to put up a fight,” Aidala said.