Judge declines to postpone Steve Bannon's trial on 'We Build the Wall' fraud charges

A New York judge on Tuesday declined to immediately postpone Steve Bannon's Dec. 9 trial on charges that he defrauded supporters of President-elect Donald Trump who donated to an online campaign to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Bannon, who was a White House strategist during Trump's first term in office, pleaded not guilty in 2022 to charges that he defrauded donors to "We Build the Wall," an online fundraising effort to raise money for Trump's signature policy.

The defense had sought to move the case into January.

Judge April Newbauer left open the possibility of moving the trial date, but only after a hearing Monday about some of the evidence that prosecutors want to use -- which prosecutors said would not add any time to the week-long trial.

"We don't see it having any impact on the length of the trial from the people's perspective," assistant Manhattan district attorney Jeffrey Levinson said. "The notion that this is a shock or a surprise I think is misplaced."

Prosecutors said they want to use certain evidence to establish Bannon's motive for allegedly defrauding donors to the campaign. Bannon's lawyers said they would now need additional time to respond.

"We may now need to offer testimony and/or evidence countering the assertion that Mr. Bannon was motivated by personal profit," defense attorney John Carman said. He hinted that Bannon's co-defendants in a related federal case could be called to testify.

Bannon never faced federal charges because he was pardoned by then-President Trump on Trump's final night in office during his first term. The pardon only applied to the federal case and did not preclude state charges.

Bannon had told donors to the We Build the Wall campaign that their money would 100% go toward building a wall along the U.S. southern border, while prosecutors say some of the $15 million in donations was secretly funneled to himself and the campaign's president, Brian Kolfage.

Bannon's attorney said that Bannon was appropriately reimbursed for legitimate expenses.

"The money that he was taking was money he was entitled to take," Carman said.

Bannon recently finished serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress charges after he failed to comply with a subpoena to testify before the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Upon exiting court on Tuesday, Bannon called out several members of law enforcement.

"The people rendered their verdict on this lawfare last Tuesday," Bannon said, referring to Trump's reelection. "The hunted are about to become the hunters."

Bannon name-checked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, special counsel Jack Smith and New York Attorney General Letitia James in his remarks.

He did not call out Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case against Bannon over We Build the Wall.