Government

Steve Bannon Develops Convenient Allergy To His Counsel, Delaying Trial In Border Wall Scam

At least he can't count on a pardon from Gov. Hochul ... probably.

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Former Trump Strategist Steve Bannon Arrested On Fraud Charges Related To Crowdfunded Built The Wall Campaign

(Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Two things can be true at the same time: Steve Bannon’s lawyers can legitimately despise him and want off his case. And Bannon can be manipulating the court to delay his trial.

Steve Bannon is large, he contains multitudes. Plus a whole bunch of shirts.

This morning, Bannon appeared for a hearing before New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan in the fraud case arising out of the scam to build a homebrew border wall using donated money. In August of 2020, Bannon was federally indicted in relation to the scheme, but was pardoned by Trump on his last day in office. Bannon’s co-conspirators received no such clemency, and eventually two pled guilty while a third was convicted at trial.

“I am never going to stop fighting,” Steve Bannon vowed in September of 2022, when the New York state indictment was imminent. “I have not yet begun to fight. They will have to kill me first.”

In fact, they did not have to kill him. They just had to reproduce the allegations from the federal indictment, wherein he and his henchmen publicly claimed to be coordinating an all-volunteer effort, while routing funds to themselves through a not particularly sophisticated network of shell companies. Some of the fake wall donors hailed from the Empire State, and it’s virtually impossible to move cash in America without touching New York, so Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is going to get another bite of the Bannon apple.

After his refusal to testify to the January 6 Committee, Bannon faced trial last summer in DC for contempt of congress. He was represented by Trump impeachment lawyer David Schoen, and was convicted on all charges. And yet, Schoen, whose home jurisdiction is Alabama, entered his appearance for Bannon in New York when the state charges came down.

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Maybe third time would be the charm?

Apparently, not. In court this morning, Schoen and his co-counsel John Mitchell requested to withdraw their appearances, citing an irreconcilable failure to communicate with their cantankerous client.

“There is a direct breakdown in communications, so Mr. Bannon and his lawyers don’t communicate about this case directly,” Schoen said, according to the Daily Beast. Apparently, Bannon will only communicate with Schoen and Mitchell via another attorney, Adam Katz of Goldberg Segalla.

Mitchell described the situation as “most awkward,” arguing that he and Schoen should be allowed to withdraw their appearances because “we’re not providing effective assistance of counsel.”

Later Schoen told Insider that the relationship with Bannon was “cordial — we’re very friendly,” but added that “We just disagree about the case.” The substance of that disagreement has been conveyed to the court, but will be kept under seal.

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Whatever the story, Justice Merchan wasn’t going to let them out without local counsel to take their place, and, although he grumbled about dilatory tactics, gave Bannon until February 28 to find new lawyers. The DOJ will segregate the voluminous discovery, apparently harvested from Bannon’s iCloud, until such time as Bannon’s new lawyers appear — or don’t, in which case Bannon, Schoen, Mitchell, and Judge Merchan are all stuck with each other.

In the meantime, things got pretty testy this morning with Schoen, who’s known for his bombastic presentations.

TFW you’re not in Kansas anymore. Nor are you arguing in front of a Trump appointed federal judge in DC. Maybe Schoen can click his heels together three times and wake up back in Alabama. There’s no place like home!

Steve Bannon Delays Trial by Ghosting His Own Lawyers [Daily Beast]
Steve Bannon has ghosted his ‘We Build The Wall’ defense lawyers for months in what prosecutors call a delay tactic [Insider]

Liz Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

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