Steve Bannon charged with fraud

Federal prosecutors allege the fiery former White House adviser and three of his associates diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars from an online fundraising campaign to their own pockets. Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty in federal court in New York on Thursday, and a judge released him on a $5 million bond with restricted travel. The indictment also included charges against Iraq War veteran Brian Kolfage, who founded the We Build the Wall campaign; Andrew Badolato, one of the campaign’s associates; and Timothy Shea, the owner of an energy drink company. Kolfage and Shea also appeared before federal judges on Thursday in Florida and Colorado, respectively.

What are they accused of doing? The men raised more than $25 million through the crowdfunded campaign by promising donors 100 percent of funds would go toward privately constructing a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The indictment says Bannon and his associates routed donations through a nonprofit group to hide their fraudulent activity. Several high-profile figures also were involved in We Build the Wall, though not named in the indictment, including former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., and former major league baseball pitcher Curt Schilling.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Charissa Koh’s report in The Stew on the founding of We Build the Wall.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.