On June 19, 2020, Attorney General William Barr announced that Berman had stepped down from his position as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District. In response, Berman released a statement that he had not resigned and would not, claiming that, as he had been nominated by a committee of judges on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, he would not leave his position until a successor was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. On June 20, Barr stated that the President had fired Berman, adding, “By operation of law, the Deputy United States Attorney, Audrey Strauss, will become the Acting United States Attorney,” serving until a nominee is confirmed by the Senate.Berman then agreed to step down.
On 20 June, Trump’s dismissal of the prosecutor, Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney in Manhattan. Exactly 2 months later, Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), announced the unsealing of an indictment charging BRIAN KOLFAGE, STEPHEN BANNON, ANDREW BADOLATO, and TIMOTHY SHEA for their roles in defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign known as “We Build the Wall” that raised more than $25 million. The defendants were arrested this morning. KOLFAGE will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hope T. Cannon in the Northern District of Florida. BANNON will be presented today in the Southern District of New York. BADOLATO will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Wilson in the Middle District of Florida. SHEA will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix in the District of Colorado. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in the Southern District of New York.
Bannon has pled not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering. He has been freed on a bond of $5 million and ordered to remain in the US pending trial.
After Trump’s 2016 election victory, Bannon boasted that he was the Tudor Thomas Cromwell of England
“Blocking Huawei is ten times more important than reaching a trade deal”.
“China has become America’s greatest enemy”.
“For me, economic war with China is everything”.
” Racism is a must-win and the president should not distance himself from white supremacists.”
In China, Bannon is called “the living fossil of paranoid madness” because his attitude toward China can no longer be described as hostility. It can be said to be hysterical, or even insane. He once claimed that the China-US trade dispute was a “fundamental clash.” Bannon simply has no idea about the globalized world and the complexity of major power relations. He is trying to make greed and fear the basic guideline for the US’ China policy, according to some Chinese observers.
Trump, when asked about the arrest of former adviser Bannon, said, “I feel terrible. I haven’t dealt with him in a long time. I haven’t dealt with him at all, I don’t know anything about the program. It’s very sad and surprising for Mr. Bannon.”
Bannon called his arrest a “political hit job” and vowed to fight the charges against him of fraud tied to a fundraising campaign purportedly aimed at supporting Trump’s border wall.
