Steve Bannon pleads not guilty to fraud, money laundering charges related to border wall fundraiser

Former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty Thursday to New York charges related to the "We Build the Wall" fundraiser.

Bannon turned himself in to New York authorities and was charged with six counts, including money laundering in the second degree, scheme to defraud in the first degree, and conspiracy in the fourth and fifth degrees.

The indictment alleges that Bannon used WeBuildTheWall, Inc. to draw contributions from a crowdfunding website, which were then funneled through "various third party entities," with part of the money going to the CEO of WeBuildTheWall despite that organization and the CEO making repeated statements that he would not be compensated.

The indictment does not name anyone else, identifying the CEO as "Unindicted Co-Conspirator 1." A federal indictment filed in 2020 listed WeBuildTheWall founder Brian Kolfage as a co-defendant, alleging that he and Bannon told the public that Kolfage would "not take a penny" in compensation from the organization, only to then receive money through a third party entity.