'Start the next grift campaign': Steve Bannon ripped after pleading guilty to scamming MAGA
Far-right activist Steve Bannon — who was previously one of President Donald Trump's most senior advisors — just formally pleaded guilty in his Manhattan criminal case.
Bannon was prosecuted for a fraudulent crowdfunding campaign to build a wall along the Southern border of the United States. He and others managed to raise more than $20 million, which built a few miles of border fencing before hitting regulatory roadblocks. Manhattan prosecutors unearthed emails showing that Bannon privately called the campaign a "scam" and likened the funds raised for border wall construction — which would cost hundreds billions of dollars — to "lunch money," but went along with it to make money for his own ventures.
But on Tuesday, CNN reported that Bannon pleaded guilty to first-degree scheme to defraud in order to avoid jail time. He has instead been sentenced to three years of conditional discharge, and won't be ordered to pay any restitution. Prosecutors said victims of the scam had already been made whole in a separate federal case. Bannon maintained that "nobody lost money" after entering his plea.
READ MORE: Bannon is a 'huge supporter' of this Biden admin official and wants her to have 'more power'
The fact that Bannon — who has already served a four-month federal prison sentence for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena — won't serve any time behind bars angered some legal experts on social media. Attorney Bradley P. Moss posted to Bluesky: "If no jail time, what's the point," while Gonzaga University law professor Ann Murphy "wish[ed] he was going to prison again."
"If you are a Republican, you are allowed to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars," University of Texas at Austin lecturer Alex Wild wrote on Bluesky.
Journalist Oscar Gonzalez opined that Bannon was already plotting his next scam, tweeting: "Time for him to start the next grift campaign to get more money for his legal fees." And software engineer Alex Cole mocked Trump supporters Bannon scammed for their gullibility, tweeting that Bannon "looks like he marinates in dumpster juice" and likened getting scammed by Steve Bannon to "pigeons getting scammed by breadcrumbs."
"Imagine being dumb enough to donate your hard-earned Walmart paycheck to a millionaire in a trench coat promising to build a wall," Cole tweeted. "Yall dumb [as f---]."
READ MORE: 'Definitely going to use it': Bannon exploiting bill to drive wedge between Trump and Musk
Click here to read CNN's full report.
