U.S. judge dismisses indictment against ex-Trump adviser Bannon, cites pardon [View all]

[SouthBayDem]

Source: Reuters

Steve Bannon, the onetime top strategist for former President Donald Trump and recipient of a presidential pardon, on Tuesday won dismissal of an indictment accusing him of defrauding donors to a fund to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan said dismissal was "the proper course" in light of the pardon, which Bannon received in the final hours of Trump's presidency.

Prosecutors had argued that instead of dismissing the indictment, the judge should merely dismiss Bannon as one of the four defendants. The defendants had been charged in connection with the alleged siphoning of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the $25 million "We Build the Wall" crowdfunding campaign.

But the judge said the pardon was valid, and that even if Bannon did not formally admit guilt "the issuance of a pardon may carry an imputation of guilt; acceptance a confession of it."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-judge-dismisses-indictment-against-ex-trump-adviser-bannon-cites-pardon-2021-05-25/