Donald Trump, US President said on Thursday that he feels “very badly” about the arrest of Steve Bannon ,his former close adviser but knows nothing about the fundraising organization involved in the federal criminal case.
“Trump told the reporters in the Oval office that, “I do think it’s a sad event.”“I haven’t dealt with him at all now for years, literally years.”
Bannon, who was an architect of the nationalist populism that has also defined Trump’s presidency, has been charged with defrauding Trump supporters in a campaign to help build the president’s signature wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I feel very badly. I haven’t been dealing with him for a long period of time,” said Trump.
Bannon was among the four people arrested on Thursday and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in an indictment secured by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. Prosecutors accused the defendants of defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors through a $25 million crowdfunding campaign called “We Build the Wall,” said the Justice Department. They each face up to 40 years in prison.
“I know nothing about the project other than I didn’t like, when I read about it, I didn’t like it. I said, ‘This is for government, this isn’t for private people,’ and it sounded to me like showboating,” said Trump.
The Republican president also told the reporters that he did not know even the three charged along with Bannon and did not believe he had ever met them.
“I think it’s a very sad thing for Mr. Bannon. I think it’s surprising,” said Donald Trump.
