Trump ally Steve Bannon pleads guilty to fraud

Former adviser avoids jail time over fundraising to build US-Mexico border wall

Political strategist Steve Bannon outside court in New York on Tuesday. Mr Bannon has pleaded guilty to defrauding donors in a border wall scheme. EPA

US President Donald Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding donors who contributed money to a private scheme to build a wall on the US-Mexico border, a case the conservative strategist had decried as “political persecution”.

Mr Bannon, 71, entered a guilty plea to New York state charges as part of an agreement with prosecutors that spared him prison time. He received a three-year conditional discharge, which requires that he stay out of trouble to avoid additional punishment.

He was indicted in 2022 for his role in a project called “We Build the Wall”, which involved private fundraising to build the southern border wall.

One of the masterminds behind Mr Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Mr Bannon also faced federal charges over the scheme but received a pardon at the end of the Republican's first term in the White House. A US president cannot pardon state-level charges, which also is why Mr Trump, who was convicted of dozens of felonies in New York, cannot pardon himself.

Mr Bannon pleaded guilty to a state charge on Tuesday of involvement in a “scheme to defraud in the first degree”. He served nearly four months in prison last year after being convicted of contempt of Congress.

He was sent to jail for defying a subpoena to testify before the congressional panel investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by supporters of Mr Trump.

During Mr Trump's first term in office, Mr Bannon served in the White House as his chief strategist, but he left after seven months, reportedly due to conflicts with other top staffers.

Though he no longer works officially for Mr Trump, he has remained a vocal backer of the Republican President, mainly through his podcast The War Room.