Judge rejects bid to postpone Steve Bannon's campaign fraud trial

A New York judge on Tuesday declined to postpone Steve Bannon's fraud trial next month related to his alleged efforts to defraud supporters of President-elect Donald Trump who donated to a campaign to raise funds for a border wall during his first administration.

The trial is currently scheduled for Dec. 9, and centers around allegations that he intentionally lied to Trump supporters who donated to the online campaign that sought money for building additional miles of wall along the U.S. southern border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Judge April Newbauer initially indicated that the trial could begin later after a hearing on Monday revealed additional information from the prosecution. However, prosecutors said the new evidence would not add any extra time to the trial, and Newbauer declined to immediately delay the trial until January.

"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, ABC News reported. "The notion that this is a shock or a surprise I think is misplaced."

Prosecutors are expected to argue that Bannon intended to directly benefit from the "We Build the Wall" campaign. But defense attorneys argued the money that Bannon allegedly gave to himself and his ally were legal reimbursements. 

Defense attorneys said they would now need more time to call on witnesses in order to rebut the new evidence.

"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.

The ruling comes just weeks after Bannon was released from four-month prison sentence in Connecticut related to two contempt of Congress convictions, because of his refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.