Trump ex-adviser Bannon faces state indictment in New York

Steve Bannon, a prominent associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump, is expected to face a new criminal indictment and surrender to state prosecutors on Thursday, the Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Bannon's prosecution will likely mirror aspects of a federal case in which Bannon was pardoned, the paper reported on Tuesday.

In 2021, Trump granted clemency to Bannon as part of a wave of pardons and commutations issued in his final hours in office.

Bannon was charged with swindling the president's supporters in connection with an effort to raise private funds to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

He pleaded not guilty.

The details of the new indictment could not be confirmed, the Washington Post said. A spokesperson for Bannon dismissed it as a political ploy.

"This is nothing more than a partisan political weaponization of the criminal justice system," the spokesperson said in an email to Reuters.

The state case will be handled in the New York Supreme Court by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the Washington Post said.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney declined to comment on the report.

"The SDNY (Southern District of New York) did the exact same thing in August 2020 to try to take me out of the election. It didn't work then, it certainly won't work now," Bannon said in a statement issued by his spokesperson.

In July, Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating last year's attack on the U.S. Capitol, a verdict the committee called a "victory for the rule of law."

Bannon was a main adviser to the Republican Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, then served as his chief White House strategist during 2017 before a falling out between them that was later patched up. Bannon also has played an instrumental role in right-wing media.