Trump’s New Policy Chief May End Up In Prison For Violating Federal Election Law
The Democratic Coalition has filed an FBI complaint against Trump campaign Chairman and former Breitbart editor Steven Bannon, which alleges that he violated a federal campaign finance law by coordinating Super PAC activities with the Trump campaign.
Accused of receiving payments from the PAC after he officially became part of the Republican campaign, Bannon’s recent appointment as a Senior White House Advisor has caused shock waves throughout American media for his alt-right connections and headlines from his Breitbart News outlet open anti-Semitism and vocal support from groups like the American Nazi Party and the Ku Klux Klan.
The Make America Number 1 PAC sent payments to Bannon’s Glittering Steel LLC production company of $950,090 during the 2016 primary and general election cycle.
The Federal Election Campaign Act is enforced by the FBI, whose first ever prosecution under the act concluded last year with a Virginia man being sentenced to 24 months in a plea bargain deal. The Democratic Coalition wrote:
On Tuesday morning, the Democratic Coalition Against Trump reported Trump Senior Advisor and Former Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon to the FBI for breaking campaign finance law. Over the course of the Trump campaign, Bannon was paid $950,090 by pro-Trump Super PAC, Make America Number 1, through his company Glittering Steel LLC, both before and after Bannon assumed his role as campaign CEO.
The propaganda film “Clinton Cash” was written for the screen and produced by Stephen Bannon himself, according to a Breitbart News report on August 12th, 2016, and it was presented by Glittering Steel. Glittering Steel LLC is itself a Delaware LLC.
The Democratic Coalition’s complaint continues:
According to federal campaign finance law, it is illegal for Super PACs to coordinate operations with campaigns. Additionally, there is a 120-day “cooling off” period for when Super PAC employees leave to work on the campaign their PAC was supporting to avoid any potential coordination. Steve Bannon was paid by Make America Number 1 on August 8, 2016, and then became Trump campaign CEO on August 17, 2016, directly violating the 120-day cooling off period. Additionally, Bannon was paid by the PAC after he became campaign CEO, which likely means there was coordination.
“This is yet another example of the corruption that took place over the course of the Trump campaign. Except now, Steve Bannon has a spot as a senior advisor to the White House,” said Scott Dworkin, senior advisor to the coalition. “I can only hope that the FBI will investigate this incident without being clouded by Bannon’s new position.”
It will require a complete investigation into Glittering Steel LLC and the Make America Number 1 PAC to ultimately determine if Stephen Bannon’s work for the PAC’s contractor and the Trump Campaign violated federal election laws.
This spreadsheet contains lists all payments, with links to the corresponding public records.
Here is the Democratic Coalition’s complaint:
DCAT – Stephen Bannon – FBI Complaint Memo by Grant Stern on Scribd
