Steve Bannon pleads guilty to defrauding voters in private border wall scheme

Conservative firebrand Steve Bannon pleaded guilty to defrauding donors in a fundraising effort to build a wall along the southern US border in a deal that allowed him to avoid prison.

Conservative firebrand Steve Bannon pleaded guilty to defrauding donors in a fundraising effort to build a wall along the southern US border in a deal that allowed him to avoid prison. Bannon pleaded guilty to one state felony count of a scheme to defraud in the first degree and was sentenced to a three-year conditional discharge. He will not serve any time in prison, nor will he be required to pay any restitution under the deal. Prosecutor Jeffrey Levinson said there is no restitution because Bannon’s co-defendants in a related federal case already returned millions of dollars to victims. Bannon spoke briefly in court answering the judge’s questions. “Yes, your honor,” he said when asked if he engaged in the scheme to which he was pleading guilty. Prosecutors fought to stop recent efforts to delay the trial, which was scheduled to start on March 4. It also marks a second felony conviction for Bannon, who was found guilty of contempt of Congress. He served four months in federal prison and was released in November.