Published 17:44 IST, August 21st 2020
Ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon charged in border wall scheme
Steve Bannon, former advisor to US president, along with three others has been charged of misleading funds which had to be used for building the border.
Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon, along with three others, was arrested after being charged with ripping donors in a fundraising scheme, aimed at raising money for building a wall over the southern border of the US, on Thursday.
The project, as touted, was "to help US President Donald Trump realize his vision to have a big-beautiful border between the US and Mexico after the efforts to redirect money into government funds were held up in lawsuits."
" Bannon had promised, that the entire amount which was donated would be used to create the wall, however, the defendants collectively had used a large part of it," said the indictment order.
“Trump, the President of the US has, in no manner has been involved in with the project and, the entire thing done was a charade, and perhaps to raise funds,” said Kayleigh McEnany, White House spokesperson.
McEnany further added that "Trump has not been involved with Steve Bannon since its inception and does not know who are the other people involved with the same."
The campaign had begun originally on 17 December 2018 and had promoted a project that would consist of fence posts which would about three miles long in Souther Part of Texas. The project had been given its shape by the Fisher Industries, which had received two billion dollars in funding as a contract for the wall. The Construction did face resistance by local authorities in New Mexico and Texas, accusing it of improper permitting. It was in May, the federal officials had found that a part of the wall had been violating flood construction standards along the Rio Grande.
"The campaign might be under federal criminal investigation and had taken additional steps to conceal the fraud," according to the indictment.
"The defendants had only learned it in October, that the campaign might be under the purview of federal criminal investigations, and it was then they took additional steps to conceal the deceit that they had done," further added the imputation.
"It is clear that the federal prosecutors were had been attacking the political infrastructure, that supported President Trump right before the race to the White House is about to start," said Dustin Stockton, who helped start the campaign but left to support the president.
(With Inputs from AP)
Updated 17:44 IST, August 21st 2020