当地时间8月20日，美国纽约地方检察官在一份声明中称，美国总统特朗普前政治顾问班农因涉嫌欺诈募捐款项被捕。声明称，“我们筑墙”在线捐款计划筹集了2500万美元，用于修筑美国南部边境墙，但班农被控将资金用于个人支出。一同被捕的还有另外三名涉案人员。
检方表示，班农已于当地时间20日下午出庭受审，他拒不认罪，并以500万美元保释金获释。检方称：“被告总共从该项目中获得了数十万美元的捐赠资金，他们每个人的使用方式都与该项目公开陈述的方式不符。”一旦罪名成立，这四人每人将面临最高40年的监禁，但最终的刑期可能会短得多。班农曾是特朗普总统竞选团队的高级顾问，后来也曾任白宫首席策略师，号称“白宫师爷”。他的主要观点为反对移民，这也是特朗普任期三年半来的执政方向。Steve Bannon, an architect of Donald Trump's 2016 election victory, was arrested on a yacht on Thursday and pleaded not guilty after he was charged with defrauding donors in a scheme to help build the president's signature wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.Bannon, 66, was among four people arrested and charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. A top adviser to Trump's presidential campaign who later served as White House chief strategist, Bannon helped articulate the "America First" right-wing populism and fierce opposition to immigration that have been hallmarks of Trump's 3.5 years in office. Trump fired Bannon from his White House post in August 2017.Investigators allege that the group of conservative officials defrauded donors, which led to raising "more than 25 million U.S. dollars to build a wall along the southern border of the United States."Prosecutors claim the defendants "collectively received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donor funds from 'We Build the Wall,' which they each used in a manner inconsistent with the organization's public representations," according to the indictment. The four people each face up to 40 years in prison if convicted but would likely get much shorter sentences.今年2月份，“我们筑墙”项目负责人曾对媒体称，正与美国政府沟通，计划在美国南部边境修建一堵墙，并将筹集的款项交予美国政府。CNN报道称，“我们筑墙”项目在不到两年时间里共募集“超过2500万美元（约1.75亿人民币）的建墙资金”。班农及共谋之一科尔法奇曾多次向捐赠者承诺，筹集到的款项将100%用于修建美墨边境墙。起诉书详细披露了班农等人为挪用款项耍的“花招”。在“我们筑墙”项目成立几天内，班农、科尔法奇与巴多拉托达成一项“秘密协议”，内容包括科尔法奇将“预先获得10万美元，之后每月获得2万美元”。检方称，为了掩盖向科尔法奇转移资金的事实，班农通过他名下一家非盈利机构秘密转移资金。2019年2月，班农通过这家机构向科尔法奇秘密支付10万美元，随后，这家机构一直私下向科尔法奇转移资金，金额达100多万美元。据指控，科尔法奇将超过35万美元资金挪作私用，包括整容外科手术、一辆豪华SUV、一辆高尔夫球车、一艘船、房屋装修、珠宝的费用及信用卡债务等。The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has charged Bannon and three other defendants with the campaign called "We the People Build the Wall". This project initial promised that all donations would be handed over to the federal government to pay for construction of Trump's long promised southern border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The fund-raising effort collected more than $25 million, and prosecutors said Mr.Bannon used nearly $1 million for personal uses.The indictment mentions that the evidence includes "fake invoices, third-party vendors and empty shell corporations to try to take the cash flow of the project into their own pockets. Bannon and his co-conspirators pocketed millions of dollars to pay for their own lavish expenses including "travel, hotels, consumer goods, and personal credit card debts."班农曾经的“盟友”特朗普在听闻这则消息后，急忙和他撇清关系。特朗普进一步表明，他对于其他项目参与人一无所知，即使他的一些关键盟友也都参与了项目。特朗普的幕僚涉嫌犯罪已不是奇闻，此前被逮捕或被定罪的还包括前竞选主席保罗·马纳福特，特朗普的老朋友罗杰·斯通，前国家安全顾问迈克尔·弗林和前私人律师迈克尔·科恩。特朗普一直在努力修建他的边境墙，这是他2016年竞选时的一个关键承诺。同时也面临着法庭的挑战，后勤物资的阻碍，以及国会的反对。政府数据显示，特朗普政府已完成48公里的边境围栏，和386公里的边境隔离墙。然而特朗普在周四表示，“我不了解这个项目，当我审核它的时候，我并不喜欢它。我当时说，这项‘筑墙计划’应该由政府实施，个人筹款去实行，听起来就像是在炫富。”"I do think it's a sad event," Trump said. "I haven't dealt with him at all now for years, literally years."Trump said he knew little about the project. But one of those involved, former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, said in 2019 that Trump had offered his support, according to the New York Times.Bannon is the eighth close Trump associate to be arrested or convicted of a crime, a list that also includes former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former personal lawyer Michael Cohen.Trump has struggled to build his border wall - a key 2016 campaign promise - in the face of court challenges, logistical hurdles and congressional opposition. His administration has completed 48 kilometers of border fencing and replaced an additional 386 km of barriers along the 3,200-km border, government figures show."I know nothing about the project," Trump said on Thursday, "other than ... when I read about it, I didn't like it. I said, 'This is for government, this isn't for private people,' and it sounded to me like showboating." Trump also said he did not believe he had ever met the three others charged.CNN评论称，班农麻烦刚刚开始。对班农来说，为一个非黑即白的财务案件进行辩护，难度比为涉及主观意图的案件辩护要大得多。再优秀的律师也没法为假发票和假收据洗白。
CNN认为，班农前景黯淡。根据美国联邦量刑指导方针，按照班农涉嫌欺诈的金额数目（据检方说超过2500万美元），如果他被定罪，他将面临至少7到9年的刑期。From Bannon's perspective, it's difficult to defend a case based on black-and-white financial documents. A shrewd defense lawyer can defend for controversial issues rather than argue with forged invoices and receipts.Bannon, if convicted, is looking at a sentence of at least approximately seven to nine years under the federal sentencing guidelines.
美国大选临近，“义乌指数”再成热题