When Steve Bannon turned himself into authorities at Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday morning following his indictment on charges related to a border wall fundraising scam, the former Trump adviser was his usual unapologetic self — framing his alleged misdeeds as a political attack.
Repeatedly pointing out that the midterm elections were “six weeks” away, Bannon described the situation as an “irony” when walking into the courthouse, saying: “on the very day the mayor of this city has a delegation down on the border, they’re persecuting people here who are trying to stop” migrants.
This is the second time that Bannon, who in July was found guilty of contempt of Congress, was charged for siphoning cash from an online fundraiser for the U.S.-Mexico border wall. He and the fundraising organization are charged in a six-count indictment with second-degree money laundering, fourth-degree conspiracy, first-degree scheme to defraud, and fifth-degree conspiracy. Bannon is expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.
Bannon did not seem worried as he was walked into Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom around 2:12 p.m. Although the maskless Bannon was handcuffed and escorted by several court officers, he had a large smirk on his face. (Merchan is the same judge overseeing former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg’s fraud case.)
At Bannon’s arraignment on Thursday afternoon,…
