Donald Trump’s rabid supporters don’t seem to mind that he pardoned Steve Bannon despite evidence that he defrauded Trump’s supporters with a campaign called “We Build the Wall.” Donations exceeded $25 million dollars, no additional wall was built with that money (and legally couldn’t have been anyway), and Bannon pocketed more than a million dollars for himself. It’s a move Trump can respect, apparently, even though his supporters’ hard-earned money was fraudulently coaxed from them by criminals.
JUST IN:
"Federal Prosecutors Oppose Dismissing Steve Bannon’s Indictment Despite Trump Pardon — Here’s Why"
Developing story with court doc inside, @lawcrimenews https://t.co/w7tZ4K4Rk6 pic.twitter.com/ASDooU36AO
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) February 26, 2021
Trump’s pardon, however, may exempt Bannon from punishment for his crimes, but it does not excuse him from other consequences, such as paying legal fees and submitting further financial documents in the case against his cohorts, none of whom received the same pardon, which could present additional legal charges.
According to the legal documents issued by federal prosecutors, made public by Law & Crime, they argued that:
‘The Government has no objection to the Court entering an order exonerating Bannon’s bail. However, the government respectfully submits that the pardon granted to Bannon is not a basis to dismiss the Indictment against him. A pardon ‘is “an executive action that mitigates or sets aside punishment for a crime.”‘
The Manhattan district attorney's office has subpoenaed financial records related to Steve Bannon's crowd-funding border-wall effort, signaling that its criminal investigation into Trump's former chief strategist is advancing. https://t.co/u8NYswQHq9
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 24, 2021
The “charity’s” founder, Brian Kolfage, along with Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea, who served as “officers” of the We Build the Wall campaign, await prosecution and sentencing. Bannon may have felt like the luckiest guy alive when he received his pardon, but his way out of the mess he created is not yet clear.
‘Accordingly, because Bannon does not set forth any legal authority for the proposition that a court should dismiss an indictment following a pardon, and the only stated basis for his request is to “clarify” his status, the court should deny the request.’
NY DA Cy Vance Investigating Steve Bannon for State Crimes: Trump's Pardon Can’t Help Him Now. In fact, according to US Supreme Court precedent, here’s how Bannon’s decision to accept Trump’s pardon may come back to bite him. #JusticeMatters https://t.co/n3mXuhsrrE via @YouTube
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) February 26, 2021
Prosecutors have requested further financial records related to the case, records that belong to Bannon. Additionally, the issuance of permits for further charity organizing, as well as other related consequences, may still be warranted and enforceable.
‘Bannon’s counsel submitted the letter to the Court by email—and therefore effectively under seal—because, in his view, “Bannon should no longer be a defendant in the case. However, until the defendant is administratively terminated, he remains a named defendant and more important, Bannon’s status in the case is not a basis to make his submission under seal.”‘
“While the government does not object to administratively terminating Bannon from the case or exonerating his bail, the government does oppose Bannon’s request that the indictment itself be dismissed as to him.” https://t.co/7Kk7Qsyig4
— John FitzGerald (@TheTweetOfJohn) February 26, 2021