一名纽约州法官周二拒绝立即推迟12月9日对史蒂夫·班农的审判，指控他欺诈当选总统唐纳德·特朗普的支持者，特朗普向一个在线活动捐款，资助在美墨边境修建一堵墙。
班农在特朗普的第一个任期内担任白宫策略师，不服罪2022年，他被指控欺诈捐助者“我们建造隔离墙”，这是一项为特朗普的签名政策筹集资金的在线筹款活动。
辩方曾试图将此案推迟到1月份。
法官艾普尔·纽鲍尔(April Newbauer)没有排除改变审判日期的可能性，但只是在周一就检察官希望使用的一些证据举行听证会之后——检察官表示，这不会给为期一周的审判增加任何时间。
“从人们的角度来看，我们不认为这对审判时间有任何影响，”助理曼哈顿地区检察官杰弗里·莱文森说。“我认为这是一个冲击或惊喜的概念是错误的。”
检察官表示，他们希望利用某些证据来确定班农涉嫌欺诈竞选捐款人的动机。班农的律师表示，他们现在需要更多时间来回应。
“我们现在可能需要提供证词和/或证据，反驳班农先生受个人利益驱使的说法，”辩护律师约翰·卡门说。他暗示，班农在相关联邦案件中的共同被告可能会被传唤作证。
班农从未面临联邦指控，因为他是被时任总统特朗普赦免在特朗普第一任期的最后一晚。赦免只适用于联邦案件，不排除州指控。
班农告诉“我们建墙”运动的捐助者，他们的钱将100%用于在美国南部边境修建一堵墙，而检察官表示，1500万美元的捐款中有一部分秘密流向了他自己和该运动的主席布莱恩·科尔法格。
班农的律师表示，班农的合法费用得到了适当的报销。
“他拿的钱是他有权拿的钱，”卡门说。
班农最近服完了四个月的刑期，罪名是藐视国会的指控此前，他未能遵守传票，在调查1月6日美国国会大厦袭击事件的众议院特别委员会作证。
周二离开法庭时，班农召集了几名执法人员。
“上周二，人民对这项法律做出了裁决，”班农说，他指的是特朗普的连任。"被捕猎者即将成为捕猎者。"
班农在讲话中点名批评了美国司法部长梅里克·加兰、特别顾问杰克·史密斯和纽约州总检察长莱蒂夏·詹姆斯。
他没有叫出曼哈顿地方检察官·阿尔文·布拉格，是他就“我们建造隔离墙”一案起诉班农的。
Judge declines to postpone Steve Bannon's trial on 'We Build the Wall' fraud charges
A New York judge on Tuesday declined to immediately postpone Steve Bannon's Dec. 9 trial on charges that he defrauded supporters of President-elect Donald Trump who donated to an online campaign to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Bannon, who was a White House strategist during Trump's first term in office,pleaded not guiltyin 2022 to charges that he defrauded donors to "We Build the Wall," an online fundraising effort to raise money for Trump's signature policy.
The defense had sought to move the case into January.
Judge April Newbauer left open the possibility of moving the trial date, but only after a hearing Monday about some of the evidence that prosecutors want to use -- which prosecutors said would not add any time to the week-long trial.
"We don't see it having any impact on the length of the trial from the people's perspective," assistant Manhattan district attorney Jeffrey Levinson said. "The notion that this is a shock or a surprise I think is misplaced."
Prosecutors said they want to use certain evidence to establish Bannon's motive for allegedly defrauding donors to the campaign. Bannon's lawyers said they would now need additional time to respond.
"We may now need to offer testimony and/or evidence countering the assertion that Mr. Bannon was motivated by personal profit," defense attorney John Carman said. He hinted that Bannon's co-defendants in a related federal case could be called to testify.
Bannon never faced federal charges because he waspardoned by then-President Trumpon Trump's final night in office during his first term. The pardon only applied to the federal case and did not preclude state charges.
Bannon had told donors to the We Build the Wall campaign that their money would 100% go toward building a wall along the U.S. southern border, while prosecutors say some of the $15 million in donations was secretly funneled to himself and the campaign's president, Brian Kolfage.
Bannon's attorney said that Bannon was appropriately reimbursed for legitimate expenses.
"The money that he was taking was money he was entitled to take," Carman said.
Bannon recently finished serving a four-month prison sentence forcontempt of Congress chargesafter he failed to comply with a subpoena to testify before the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Upon exiting court on Tuesday, Bannon called out several members of law enforcement.
"The people rendered their verdict on this lawfare last Tuesday," Bannon said, referring to Trump's reelection. "The hunted are about to become the hunters."
Bannon name-checked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, special counsel Jack Smith and New York Attorney General Letitia James in his remarks.
He did not call out Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case against Bannon over We Build the Wall.
