Steve Bannon — who is facing a fundraising fraud trial over allegations he duped donors to his non-profit — has hired Rudy Giuliani’s power lawyer Arthur Aidala, Page Six has learned.
Aidala has also defended disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
“We look forward to clearing Mr. Bannon’s name in this clearly politically motivated case,” Aidala told Page Six. “We will work tirelessly to dispose of yet another lawfare case so Mr. Bannon can go forth and continue to serve our country.”
We are told Bannon is due in court on Feb. 25.
The Trump ally and alt-right podcaster was charged in 2022 by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over allegations he defrauded donors to his We Build The Wall non-profit, which had promised to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges including money laundering, fraud and conspiracy.
If convicted he could face a 5 to 15-year prison sentence.
The organization’s Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato were already sentenced to prison “for their respective roles in carrying out a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors. . . by soliciting donations using false statements and then stealing the resulting donations,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York.
Kolfage was sentenced to four years and Badolato was sentenced to three in the $15 million fundraising scam.
While the organization has said Kolfage would not take a salary, he raked in over $250,000 — $140,000 of which Bannon allegedly laundered, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James have alleged.
Trump had previously pardoned Bannon for the alleged scam in 2021, but that only applies to federal cases.
Bannon, a former White House strategist during the first Trump administration, previously served four months in custody after refusing to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 Congressional Committee.
He was banned from Twitter in 2020 after he suggested beheading Dr. Anthony Fauci and former FBI Director Christopher Wray.
In 2021, YouTube banned his “War Room,” podcast.
