Steve Bannon Out on $5 Million Bail amid Arrest for Border Wall Fraud Case

"I think it's a very sad thing for Mr Bannon," Trump said, adding he felt "very badly" and he hasn't "been dealing with him for a long period".

Manhattan federal prosecutors said Bannon, the organization's founder Brian Kolfage, venture capitalist Andrew Badolato and owner of a pro-Trump energy drink company Timothy Shea, "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".

Federal postal inspectors intercepted Bannon, 66, on a $35 million, 150-foot yacht off the coast of Connecticut, according to The New York Times.

The paper said the boat belonged to Guo Wengui, the exiled Chinese tycoon.

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Early suspicions

The fundraising scheme began in 2018 as a GoFundMe campaign to raise money organizers said would go towards the border wall Trump promised during his 2016 campaign.

One week after launching, the online appeal took in $17 million, which raised suspicions at the crowdfunding site and prompted it to temporarily shut the campaign down.

GoFundMe said organizers would need to identify a legitimate nonprofit where the money was headed or it would be returned.

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