Steve Bannon reportedly faces a new set of criminal charges and will surrender to New York authorities on Thursday.
According to a report Tuesday evening in The Washington Post, the ex-adviser to former President Donald Trump likely will be indicted in state court for conduct similar to a federal charge for which Mr. Trump pardoned him.
“The precise details of the state case could not be confirmed Tuesday evening,” The Post acknowledged.
But, citing “people familiar with the situation,” The Post reported that the charges relate to fraud counts in the “We Build the Wall” case.
A spokesperson for Mr. Bannon told The Post that the “phony charges” from New York were “nothing more than a partisan political weaponization of the criminal justice system.”
Mr. Bannon and several others were accused in a federal case of defrauding contributors to the private, $25 million fundraising effort to support building a barrier across the U.S.-Mexico border. The former adviser to Mr. Trump was accused of personally netting $1 million.
Mr. Bannon had pleaded not guilty in the federal fundraising case, in which two men already had pleaded guilty, when Mr. Trump included him on his last-day clemency list.
A presidential pardon can apply only to federal charges and does not preempt state charges even if it’s the same underlying conduct.
The new New York case, according to The Post, will be handled in New York State Supreme Court by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Citing “three people familiar with the matter,” The Post reported that Mr. Bannon is “expected to turn himself in on Thursday.”
The state indictment would come less than two months after Mr. Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress for rebuffing subpoenas from the House Jan. 6 committee.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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