Former Trump Adviser Steve Bannon Pleads Not Guilty To Fraud Over $25m Border Wall Fundraiser

Daily Mail: Steve Bannon is released on $5m bail and says 'this entire fiasco is to stop the wall being built' after appearing in court in handcuffs over $25m border wall fundraiser fraud following his arrest on Chinese billionaire's superyacht

* Steve Bannon emerged from Manhattan federal court on Thursday evening after posting $5million bail
* It came after the former top Trump aide appeared before a judge and pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering
* He is accused of ripping off the We Build The Wall scheme that pledged to build a crowd-sourced border wall
* The group raised money claiming the idea was 'Trump approved' and took in $20 million on GoFundMe before being kicked off the platform, then $5 million more
* 'Non-profit' told hundreds of thousands of donors the people behind it were volunteers when they were secretly being paid, feds say
* Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York say he helped run scheme which funneled donations to its co-founders
* Some of the cash has built sections of wall - and Donald Trump Jr. and girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle took part in a fundraiser; first son now claims he too was 'deceived'
* Bannon received $1 million and kept hundreds of thousands for his personal expenses
* Massive amounts of cash went to Brian Kolfage, the triple amputee co-founder who prosecutors say spent it on his lavish lifestyle
* Kolfage used the money he received on home renovations, boat payments, an SUV, a golf cart, jewelry, cosmetic surgery, tax and credit card debt
* His wife Ashley, 34, received cash too and posted on Instagram about their lifestyle and said Thursday that Kolfage, 38, was on his way back home
* All four indicted men face one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison
* Bannon was arrested Thursday morning on a yacht, the Lady May, owned by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui
* Wengui and Bannon broadcast a podcast interview from the yacht on Wednesday - with Kolfage

Steve Bannon has been released on $5 million bail after appearing in court in handcuffs and pleading not guilty to being part of an alleged crowd funded border wall scam.

The former Donald Trump campaign strategist beamed with excitement as he emerged from Manhattan federal court on Thursday afternoon with his coronavirus mask in one hand and papers in the other.

As he approached a throng of reporters, Bannon said: 'This entire fiasco is to stop people who want to build the wall.'

Read more ....

Update #1: Ex-Trump aide Bannon pleads not guilty in border wall scheme (AP)
Update #2: Steve Bannon, key to Trump's rise, charged with defrauding border-wall supporters (Reuters)

WNU Editor: It is always troubling to me when a charity ends up being used to lavishly reward its managers and directors. Is the "We Build The Wall" charity one of those schemes? We will soon find out. I live in Canada, and the Canadian Prime minister is also experiencing a charity scandal (and maybe police investigation) over his support for a no-bid billion dollar contract to a charity that paid his family hundreds of thousands of dollars for speaking engagements .... WE charity scandal - A simple guide to the new crisis for Trudeau (BBC).


On a side note. There is one thing about Steve Bannon that has still stuck with me since the 2016 Presidential election and is relevant in today's race. After the 2016 election Steve Bannon's primary focus was on making sure President Trump would win in 2020. His strategy was simple. Pursue policies that would result in 60% of whites and 40% of the Black and Hispanic community supporting Trump .... This Is How The Trump Presidency Will Operate (November 19, 2016). According to the latest tracking poll, President Trump is enjoying a 30% to 35% approval number among blacks. Among Hispanics, about 40% would vote for him .... Trump’s surprising resilience with Hispanic voters, explained (VOX). His approval numbers among whites is between 50% to 55%.

Why Did Steve Bannon Meet China's Second Most Powerful Man Last Week?

Steve Bannon (YouTube)

Zero Hedge: Bannon Held Secret Meeting With China's Second Most Powerful Man

Shortly after Steve Bannon visited Hong Kong last week to give a closed-door speech at a big investor conference hosted by CLSA, a Chinese state-owned brokerage and investment group, Trump's former strategist flew to Beijing for a "secret meeting with the second most powerful Chinese Communist party official", less than a month after the former chief White House strategist declared that America was at “economic war with China”, the FT has reported.

The meeting occurred at Zhongnanhai, the Chinese leadership compound, where Bannon meet with Wang Qishan, the head of the Chinese Communist party’s anti-corruption campaign.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: A day after I had called China's Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Qishan the second most powerful man in China .... Is This China's Second Most Powerful Person? (September 21, 2017) .... both Zero Hedge and the Financial Times are now calling Wang Qishan the second most powerful man in China. The Financial Times even repeated my analysis that Wang Qishan will remain in his position for the next year or two.

Hmmmm .... I guess they read this blog. :)

The Financial Times article is here .... Steve Bannon held secret meeting in China (Financial)

Update: Now everyone else has jumped on the band-wagon with a focus on how important Wang Qishan is to Chinese President Xi ....

Bannon met with Communist Party official in Beijing: report -- The Hill
Secret meeting with Steve Bannon in Beijing adds to speculation over Wang Qishan's future -- South China Morning Post
Stephen Bannon secretly met with a powerful Chinese Communist Party leader in Beijing -- The Week Magazine
Steve Bannon held secret meeting with a senior Chinese Communist party official: Report -- Washington Examiner
Steve Bannon held secret meeting with Wang Qishan: report -- Asia Times

Update #2: This report is accurate .... China's anti-graft czar aims to retire at party congress (Nikkei Asian Review), but I have been told that President Xi has asked him to stay on for a year or two.We shall see .... but in my world when your President or Prime Minister asks you to serve .... you do not say no.

President Trump Has Fired White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon

New York Times: Stephen Bannon Out at the White House After Turbulent Run

Stephen K. Bannon, the embattled chief strategist who helped President Trump win the 2016 election but clashed for months with other senior West Wing advisers, is leaving his post, a White House spokeswoman announced Friday.

“White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve’s last day,” the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said in a statement. “We are grateful for his service and wish him the best.”

Earlier on Friday, the president had told senior aides that he had decided to remove Mr. Bannon, according to two administration officials briefed on the discussion. But a person close to Mr. Bannon insisted that the parting of ways was his idea, and that he had submitted his resignation to the president on Aug. 7, to be announced at the start of this week. But the move was delayed after the violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Read more ....

WNU editor: According to the New York Times, Steve Bannon submitted his resignation on August 7, but apparently President Trump was going to fire him anyway. As to what will be the consequences of his resignation .... he was a constant critic of those who wanted to implement military solutions to places like Afghanistan, the Middle East, and North Korea. His departure will mean that there will be no one else to give an alternative point of view to the Generals and hawks within the administration. My prediction .... expect to see a major ramping up of military deployments and actions around the globe very soon. He was also a critic of global trade deals .... so we may see a lesser push to disband trade deals like NAFTA (maybe). He has also been the fiercest critic on Chinese trade, but that voice is now gone .... Experts dismiss Bannon's call for economic war with China (CBS/AP). On the domestic political scene .... his departure is not going to lessen the intense opposition towards President Trump. If anything, it is going to embolden them.

More News On The Firing Of White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon

Strategist Steve Bannon leaves Trump’s turbulent White House -- AP
Trump fires controversial chief strategist Bannon -- Reuters
Trump gets rid of Stephen Bannon, a top proponent of his nationalist agenda -- Washington Post
Steve Bannon Out as White House Chief Strategist -- NBC
Steve Bannon out at the White House -- FOX News
Bannon out as White House chief strategist -- Politico
Steve Bannon out as Trump's chief strategist -- LA Times
Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon fired -- CNN
Steve Bannon is out at White House -- New York Post
Steve Bannon Out As Chief White House Strategist -- NPR
Steve Bannon fired as Trump White House's top strategist -- BBC
Conservatives react with fury to Bannon's departure -- The Hill

President Trump's Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon Has Been Dropped From The National Security Council

Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump's chief strategist, at the White House on Monday. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Bloomberg: Bannon Loses National Security Council Role in Trump Shakeup

* Intelligence director, Joint Chiefs chairman elevated
* McMaster given greater authority over security matters

President Donald Trump reorganized his National Security Council on Wednesday, removing his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, and downgrading the role of his Homeland Security Adviser, Tom Bossert, according to a person familiar with the decision and a regulatory filing.

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster was given responsibility for setting the agenda for meetings of the NSC or the Homeland Security Council, and was authorized to delegate that authority to Bossert, at his discretion, according to the filing.

Under the move, the national intelligence director, Dan Coats, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, are again "regular attendees" of the NSC’s principals committee.

Read more ....

Previous Post: President Trump Reorganises The National Security Council. Adds His Chief Strategist To The Council (January 30, 2017)

WNU Editor: I repeat what I said on January 30, 2017 ....

.... national security, wars, defense and intelligence policies .... these are always issues that have been politicised by every President in the past. The optics of putting chief strategist Steve Bannon on the NSC certainly do not look good .... but in reality .... politics is what drives many of the national security decisions that comes out from the Council. As to reports that the Joint Chief and other senior intel officers have been left out .... this is a mistake .... but since this announcement the White House Chief of Staff is now saying that these officials have not been left out of the NSC.

Update: NBC is now reporting that Seve Banning left on his own. He was appointed because Michael Flynn was fired, and sat for only one meeting.

More News On Steve Bannon Being Dropped From The National Security Council

Steven Bannon removed a member of National Security Council -- Washington Post
Trump Removes Stephen Bannon From National Security Council Post -- New York Times
Bannon removed from National Security Council -- L.A. Times
In reversal, Bannon removed from National Security Council -- CNN
Trump removes Bannon from National Security Council -- The Hill
Steve Bannon removed from National Security Council -- FOX News

Is This Man The Second Most Powerful Person In The World?

David Von Drehle, Time: Is Steve Bannon the Second Most Powerful Man in the World?

Most modern Presidents chart their opening moves with the help of a friendly think tank or a set of long-held beliefs.

Donald Trump's first steps had the feel of a documentary film made by his chief strategist and alter ego Stephen K. Bannon, a director who deploys ravenous sharks, shrieking tornadoes and mushroom clouds as reliably as John Ford shot Monument Valley.

Act I of the Trump presidency has been filled with disruption, as promised by Trump and programmed by Bannon, with plenty of resistance in reply, from both inside and outside the government. Perhaps this should not be surprising. Trump told America many times in 2016 that his would be no ordinary Administration. Having launched his campaign as a can-do chief executive, he came to see himself as the leader of a movement--and no movement is complete without its commissar. Bannon is the one who keeps the doctrine pure, the true believer, who is in it not for money or position, but to change history. "What we are witnessing now is the birth of a new political order," Bannon wrote in an email to the Washington Post.

Read more ....

Update: Can anyone inside or outside the White House stop Stephen Bannon? (Josh Rogin, Washington Post)

WNU Editor: Is Steve Bannon an important person in the Trump administration .... definitely. Is he the world's second most powerful person .... this is where this Time article lost me. For a better understanding on Steve Bannon's role in the Trump administration and what to expect, go here .... This Is How The Trump Presidency Will Operate (November 19, 2016).

President Trump's Top Strategist Believes The U.S. Will Be Fighting A War In The South China Sea And In The Middle East In The Next 10 Years

Trump strategist Stephen Bannon outside Trump Tower in New York in November. Reuters/Carlo Allegri

The Guardian: Steve Bannon: 'We're going to war in the South China Sea ... no doubt'

Only months ago Donald Trump’s chief strategist predicted military involvement in east Asia and the Middle East in Breitbart radio shows

The United States and China will fight a war within the next 10 years over islands in the South China Sea, and “there’s no doubt about that”. At the same time, the US will be in another “major” war in the Middle East.

Those are the views – nine months ago at least – of one of the most powerful men in Donald Trump’s administration, Steve Bannon, the former head of far-right news website Breitbart who is now chief strategist at the White House.

In the first weeks of Trump’s presidency, Bannon has emerged as a central figure. He was appointed to the “principals committee” of the National Security Council in a highly unusual move and was influential in the recent travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, overruling Department of Homeland Security officials who felt the order did not apply to green card holders.

Read more ....

WNU Editor:  This is nothing new .... my Chinese contacts have been telling me the same thing for the past few years .... that there will be a war between China and a few Asian countries over border/territory issues. As for the Middle East .... the U.S. is already involved in multiple conflicts .... so Steve Bannon's concerns are moot .... unless (of course) he is talking about a future war against Iran.

More News On Steve Bannon's Concerns That The U.S. Will Be Involved In A Major War Over The South China Sea And In The Middle East

Steve Bannon’s own words show sharp break on security issues -- USA Today
Donald Trump's closest advisor Steve Bannon thinks there will be war with China in the next few years -- The Independent
Past Recordings of Bannon Predicting Wars Surface -- US News and World Report
Steve Bannon On China: US War With China Over South China Sea Likely In '5 To 10 Years' -- International Business Times
Steve Bannon and Prospects of a US-China War in the South China Sea -- Ankit Panda, The Diplomat
Bannon is right, a war could break out in the South China Sea. Perhaps it’s time for Trump to look it up on a map -- Sean O’Grady, The Independent
Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon has 'no doubt' US will soon go to war with China -- Shanghaiist