We Build the Wall launched in 2018, promoted by Bannon and others including Brian Kolfage, a triple-amputee Air Force veteran who became the campaign's public face. The pitch was direct and emotionally powerful: Trump wanted to build the wall but Congress wouldn't fund it, so patriotic Americans could step up and fund it themselves. Donors were explicitly told their money would go directly to construction. By 2019, the campaign had raised more than $25 million. Small amounts of actual border barrier had been constructed in scattered private land areas.
Federal prosecutors alleged the reality was different. According to the indictment, Kolfage secretly received more than $350,000 in donor funds routed through shell companies. Bannon secretly received over $1 million through a nonprofit he controlled — funds described in the indictment as used to cover personal expenses. The indictment alleged the scheme involved false statements to donors about how funds would be used and shell company transactions to conceal payments. Three of Bannon's co-conspirators eventually pleaded guilty. Bannon maintained his innocence and was pardoned before his case went to trial.
Trump signed the pardon in his final hours in office — in the early morning of January 20, 2021, hours before Biden's inauguration. It erased the federal charges. State charges in New York were filed separately but were ruled procedurally barred after complex litigation. Bannon returned to political activity immediately. In 2022, he was convicted of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House January 6 Select Committee. He was sentenced to four months in prison, served the sentence in 2024, and was promptly back in Trump's orbit. As of early 2025, the Trump DOJ moved to drop his related contempt charges.
This post distinguishes between documented facts, allegations, and analysis. Where motive, intent, corruption, or illegality remains disputed in the public record, the text attributes that judgment to court findings, official records, direct quotes, or the reporting linked below.
- DOJ indictment — August 20, 2020; wire fraud, money laundering; Bannon and three co-conspirators; available at justice.gov.
- Trump pardon — January 20, 2021; confirmed by White House; erased federal charges.
- Bannon contempt conviction — July 2022; four months sentence; served 2024.
- Co-conspirator guilty pleas — Kolfage, Badolato, Shea pleaded guilty; documented in federal court records.