Steve Bannon’s sometime partner Guo Wengui was arrested this morning on a sweeping indictment charging a $1 billion conspiracy, four sets of wire and security fraud charges each tied to a particularly business, as well as other money laundering charges.It will take (me at least) some time to understand the full scope of the alleged behavior.But for now, know that SDNY started seizing some of the proceeds of this fraud last year, and will now move to seize the yacht on which Bannon was arrested for his own fraud indictment...
Former Trump campaign manager Steve Bannon pleaded not guilty on Thursday (August 20, 2020) hours after being arrested on a luxury yacht for allegedly skimming donations from an online fundraising campaign for the president’s controversial border wall with Mexico.Using a non-profit organization that he controlled, Bannon “received over $1m from the ‘We Build the Wall’ online campaign, at least some of which he used to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in [his] personal expenses”, federal prosecutors in New York allege...
And then there was, and is, the following, from Dave Weigel writing at Semaphor about the latest version of the US'ian conservative bash known as 'CPAC':
...(T)he New Federal State of China, “declared” three years ago by Steve Bannon and exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, made its first CPAC appearance (in 2023) with a $75,000 sponsorship, and two high-tech booths where volunteers handed out leaflets and explained why the battle to destroy the CCP had to be won in America.That isn’t hyperbole. “The elimination of the Chinese Communist Party is essential in breaking the shackles of slavery imposed on the Chinese people,” Bannon said at the 2020 ceremony launching the NFSC, “and also, in bringing about peace to the international community and all mankind.” Guo, citing “Chinese culture,” pricked his finger and signed the declaration with his blood.The Bannon-Wengui partnership burst into the headlines before the 2020 election, when Bannon was arrested on Guo’s yacht on charges that were later superseded by a pardon from President Trump...
Hmmmm...
Perhaps Samuel Johnson was, indeed, right when he wrote, to obliquely reference Don Mclean, 'a long long time ago', that patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.
Or some such thing.
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Perhaps Samuel Johnson was, indeed, right when he wrote, to obliquely reference Don Mclean, 'a long long time ago', that patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.
Or some such thing.
______
Image at the top of the post?...The good Mr. Bannon on the yacht in question, courtesy the London Economic.
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3 comments:
I'm pretty sure Trump pardoned Bannon on his way out the door. Wengui should be okay as long as he didn't steal from rich people.
Cap--
You are correct.
As Weigel points out, it was a superseding 'pre-emptive' pardon.
Personally, I suspect that Mr. Bannon made it exceedingly clear to Mr. Trump just how much he 'knew', including about the machinations behind the stolen election mishegoss and the capitol insurrection.
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perhaps all three could get a jail cell together. It won't be Mar a lago or the yacht, but some times you just have to do the time, if you do the crime.
Bannon, helping himself to the money. Of course. He's entitled to it. He works hard to "save the world". Looking as bad as he does, with the ugly wardrobe, costs money.
Some times I look at Maga world and just think, this might be the biggest ponce joke in history. These even people made Madorf look better.
American politics is a good game to get into if you want to make money for little effort.
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