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Steve Bannon’s trial in border wall charity case delayed until February

Steve Bannon’s trial in border wall charity case delayed until February

New York — Conservative strategist Steve Bannon will not face trial until February on state charges of conspiring to deceive donors to build a border wall, a judge said Monday as prosecutors asked the jury to be anonymous.

Bannon was not in court but listened virtually as Judge April Newbauer set Feb. 25 for jury selection, postponing it to next month. Bannon did not speak except to say “yes, ma’am” when asked if he understood he needed to be in court on the new date.

Bannon, a longtime ally and former White House adviser to former and future President Donald Trump, was recently released from a four-month federal prison sentence in a contempt of Congress case.

His trial in the case involving the former charity known as WeBuildTheWall Inc. was due to begin on December 9. Bannon chaired the group’s advisory board.

The judge delayed the trial date after deciding to let future jurors hear evidence that some of the wall charity’s money went to pay off a credit card debt of more than $600,000 owed by another nonprofit. Bannon had accumulated in 2019. filed it, but defense attorneys argued unsuccessfully that it was irrelevant.

Bannon has pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy and money laundering in the case. Manhattan prosecutors brought it forward after Trump pardoned Bannon in a similar federal prosecution that was in its early stages.

The judge has yet to rule on whether the jurors’ names will remain confidential.