Steve Bannon turns himself in to New York prosecutors

*Update: According to MSNBC, Bannon has surrendered.

The state of New York is expected to indict Steve Bannon today for the state crime that mirrors the federal crime he was convicted of, only to be ultimately pardoned by Trump. Reading through the Washington Post story that summarizes the details, it’s worth focusing on the fact that New York wouldn’t have to devote the time and resources to prosecuting this case if Trump didn’t love his to pardon friends. It is significant that Trump openly and without apology used the only true dictatorial power he possessed to reward those who favored him. Now New York must work to get justice on this matter:

Stephen K. Bannon is expected to appear before prosecutors Thursday morning to face a state-level criminal indictment, less than two months after he was convicted of contempt of Congress and nearly two years after former President Donald Trump indicted him in a federal proceeding involving fraud contributors to a $25 million fundraiser.

Details of the charges before a state court have not yet been released, but people familiar with the matter say the allegations of fraud were the subject of Bannon’s pardon.

In that case, he was charged in US District Court in Manhattan with personally pocketing $1 million from We Build the Wall, a Trump-sponsored fundraiser that Bannon helped organize beginning in December 2018.

The fact that Bannon and his friends were able to raise money from private individuals who believed they would build the wall themselves is just mind boggling. How gullible (and hateful) do you have to be to send money to a cause without thinking, “Didn’t I vote for a guy who would do this to the government? Shouldn’t Mexico pull out its credit card? Why am I being asked to pay for this personally?”

But this is less about MAGA’s constant willingness to be gifted and more about Bannon’s audacity in committing the scam. This was not an affair involving a complex accounting system with money flowing through three contractors, several cement and steel suppliers and then a Cypriot bank… No. It only came out of the funds as payment of Bannon’s personal dues. That was so bad again. It shows once again that the MAGA movement is nothing more than a gigantic money-moving machine, one fueled by resentment and hatred that you can pull out and shoot for free.

The case is interesting because Trump has raised millions with his “Stop the Steal” campaign, and evidence shows that very little to no money has gone towards any type of effort. The two handles appear to share the same frame. The only real difference might be that Trump has a lot more experience with grifting, and there might be fine print on the “stop the steal” requests that would protect Trump from prosecution.

Regardless, Bannon will go through some things, and this time he doesn’t have an ally who’s willing to forgive him.

@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, columnist, author and lawyer. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teens and college days in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. Today he enjoys life as a single father to a young girl and writes on the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves making his flower pots, cooking and is currently studying philosophy of science, religion and non-mathematical principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please do not hesitate to contact us for lectures or other concerns.