The Manhattan district attorney’s office subpoenaed financial records related to former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s border wall crowdfunding campaign, CNN reports.
Bannon was charged with federal conspiracy in connection to “We Build the Wall,” a crowdfunding effort that federal prosecutors alleged Bannon and his co-conspirators used as a personal piggy bank.
Former President Donald Trump pardoned Bannon on his way out of office but the pardon only applies to the federal charges, not potential state and local crimes.
The latest subpoena suggests Manhattan DA Cy Vance, who is also investigating Trump, is moving ahead in his investigation of Bannon.
The grand jury subpoenas were issued to Wells Fargo, which handled some of the group’s funds, and GoFundMe, which was used for the crowdfunding effort.
Bannon could face NJ probe too:
The New Jersey attorney general’s office has separately launched a civil investigation into the crowdfunding effort.
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs subpoenaed the group’s records in September, according to CNN.
"The Division of Consumer Affairs neither confirms nor denies the existence or status of investigations,” a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office told the outlet.
Prosecutors focus on federal allegations:
Sources told CNN that the Manhattan DA’s probe is focused on the same allegations that were brought by federal prosecutors.
The Justice Department said last year that Bannon and three others defrauded donors in the effort, which raised more than $25 million.
The DOJ said that Bannon used more than $1 million of that money to pay a co-conspirator and to cover hundreds of thousands in personal expenses.
Bannon pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing before the pardon. The other three men, who also pleaded not guilty, still face charges.
