On January 3, 2021, Kan Nawaday was quoted in Law360 on New York cases to watch in 2021, including fraud charges against Steve Bannon.
According to the article, Bannon and conservative activist Brian Kolfage are among four men accused of pilfering money from Kolfage's $25 million fundraising effort to build a wall on the southern U.S. border. They are set to go to trial in May before Manhattan U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres. Bannon friend Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea, who helped run the "We Build the Wall" fundraising campaign, also face charges.
Nawaday sees the feds' case — complete with allegedly shady Bannon text messages, including one to Baldolato that reads, "no deals I don't approve" — as "rock-solid" and says plea offers are probably on the table. "All four of these guys are not going to trial. That would surprise me," said Nawaday.
Any of the four wall enthusiasts who choose to brave a jury will likely be intent on convincing jurors that he was not aware of, or didn't understand, promises that every dollar raised would go toward walling off Mexico. A tricky task, according to Nawaday, and one that would become almost impossible if one or more of the defendants chooses to cooperate.
Click here to access the article.