NEW YORK (AP) — Steve Bannon’s latest legal trouble: a lawsuit alleging he defrauded a former lawyer of more than $480,000.
Bannon, a conservative strategist and former ally of President Donald Trump, was sued for breach of contract last week by a Manhattan law firm that has defended him in several high-profile legal battles.
The firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, represented Bannon from 2020 to 2022 in matters including criminal cases stemming from his refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas and from allegations that he defrauded donors who gave him money to build a wall on the southern US border.
The firm said it is also helping Bannon seek a presidential pardon before Trump leaves office in 2021.
Davidoff Hutcher & Citron said in the lawsuit that Bannon racked up a total bill of more than $855,000 but he only paid $375,000, violating the retainer agreement.
The company is seeking a payment of $480,487, plus interest and legal fees for the lawsuit against Bannon.
A message seeking comment was left for Bannon.
Trump’s pardon, in January 2021, forced federal prosecutors to release Bannon from a criminal case involving the “We Build the Wall” fundraising campaign. Manhattan prosecutors returned the case in September with state-level charges, which are not covered by the presidential pardon.
Bannon, 69, has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges.
The New York case has been delayed by more legal drama: Bannon has until next week to find a new lawyer after his current lawyer, who is not affiliated with Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, said there were “irreconcilable” differences.
Bannon is accused of falsely promising donors that all the money given to “We Build a Wall” will be to build a wall on the US-Mexico border, instead of using the funds to enrich the people involved in the project. Prosecutors say Bannon was involved in transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars to third-party entities and used them to funnel payments to two other people involved in the scheme.
The Manhattan indictment did not identify the men by name, but the details matched those of Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in April. A third defendant, Timothy Shea, was convicted in October.
Bannon was convicted last July of contempt for defying a subpoena from the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection in the US Capitol. He was sentenced in October to four months in prison. But he remains free on appeal.
Bannon, a former US Navy officer and Harvard MBA, worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and as a Hollywood producer before turning to politics. One of his most famous deals earned him “Seinfeld” royalties.
He took over the conservative news site Breitbart News in 2012, played a leading role in the final stages of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and worked in the White House for seven months as Trump’s chief strategist. He currently hosts a pro-Trump podcast called “Bannon’s War Room.”