Stephen K. Bannon, former top advisor to President Donald Trump, was arrested while on a yacht off Westbrook [CT] early Thursday, law enforcement sources said.There's more details in a Times story.
Bannon was arrested by inspectors from the U.S. Postal Service while cruising Long Island Sound near Westbrook in a $28 million mega yacht called Lady May.
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The “We Build The Wall” fundraiser was headed by men who pushed their close ties to President Trump, giving their effort a legitimacy that helped them raise more than $25 million. They touted their effort to help the president realize his vision of a “big beautiful” border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, especially after his effort to redirect millions in government funds, was held up through lawsuits.
But according to the criminal charges unsealed Thursday, very little of the wall was actually constructed. Instead, the money lined the pockets of some of those involved. Bannon, who served in Trump’s 2016 campaign and White House, received over $1 million himself, using some to secretly pay co-defendant, Brian Kolfage, the founder of the project, and to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars of Bannon’s personal expenses.
Donnie, Jr. praised the fraudulent charity:
Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. was a guest at a symposium hosted by the We Build the Wall group in New Mexico in 2019, praising the organization as “private enterprise at its finest.”But now he's backing away as fast as his corrupt little legs can carry him.
“Doing it better, faster, cheaper than anything else,” he added.
Grifters gotta grift. Make America Grift Again!
Edited to add: All of the chairmen of Trump's 2016 campaign have been arrested on one charge or another.
Bannon in jail for the fence grift? My, how the slimy have fallen. Fergus sure threw him under the bus in a hurry. There must be a sad little party going on under there.
ReplyDelete-Doug in Sugar Pine
And, he was arrested by agents of the Postal Service. How freude ist mein Schade.
ReplyDeleteAnd he was arrested on a yacht. “Boaters for Trump”?
DeleteLet's separate Bannon from his money and his freedom. Lock Him Up!
ReplyDeleteThe “Boaters for Trump” cameo yacht was a $800-900k putt-putt named “Wardighter”, allegedly purchased with misappropriated funds and listed in court papers for seizure. Bannon was arrested on a $28m super yacht named “Lady May”, owned by “the exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, whose recent financial transactions involving Bannon and a company called “GTV Media Group” have drawn scrutiny from federal and state authorities.” (-HuffPost)
ReplyDeleteDollars to donuts that Bannon gets a 11:59AM, Jan 20th pardon, he knows where too many bodies are.
I was going to snark about his wishing it were a cigarette boat, and then I looked at the picture. It's a $28mil cigarette boat.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know more about the op. I'll bet the feds found that helipad convenient.
theres a twitter page out that bannon jokes with the other wall guy about stealing the money and they are on a yacht off the coast of france.
ReplyDeleteCP, as I understand it, these are State of New York charges against Bannon. That means old Donny boy has no power to pardon him. I'm not saying he won't still try but it will involve a whole can of worms he hasn't opened yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping for some visible justice here.
w3ski
w3ski, the arresting officers were postal inspectors, which makes it federal.
ReplyDeleteBecause it's Friday: seriously, moored in New York City!? If I may for just one second slip into decidedly not law enforcement mode, speak once again as an Old Outlaw, an Outsider, outside the protection of "The Law", what the ever-loving foke is a raft like that worth if it's not laying-in somewhere ohhhh I don't know off the coast of France!? Sri Lanka? Japan? Gibraltar? Anywhere where it might actually be work for The Authorities to pick you up. You know, two hundred miles out, not Fifth Avenue. Stupid shit barely qualify as petty crooks, pissant criminals, no fokin' way they're Outlaws and I don't care how groovy their outlaw boat is. Too stupid to use it for what it is. Moored in New York City, ki-rist.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Drumpf sucks they robbed, lol, no sympathy. Do not give one flying fig.
Ten Bears, if that yacht and its billionaire owner sail into waters anywhere near a PLAN warship, they will be toast. They aren't going to go anywhere such a ship might be. Which includes the I.O. and the Pacific.
ReplyDeleteComrade, I wouldn’t limit that to warships. Chinese paramilitary research and mapping ships are venturing further abroad, essentially anywhere around Africa might be fair game now, as I expect those “civilian” ships have armed marines to secure the vessel...they learned the Gulf of Aden lesson very well.
ReplyDeleteI do think the Postal Inspectors arresting him was a nice touch.
Spare a thought for the grift Bannon didn't get busted for: Funneling (if I have my numbers right) $20 M to the media company run by the owner of the yacht they caught him on as part of the Trumpenizing of the VOA (US Agency for Global Media) by Bannonite Michael Pack.
ReplyDelete-Doug in Sugar Pine