Prison nears for Trump-supporting crypto promoters Bannon and Guo
Steve Bannon is finally going to prison, and Miles Guo is trying to get out of jail — although his trial isn’t going particularly well. The once-Donald-Trump-supporting crypto promoters might have hoped for a presidential pardon if Trump’s campaign for the 2024 US Presidency was successful. However, the pair find themselves increasingly estranged from Trump as he focuses elsewhere and, as a result, their hopes of a pardon look to be fading.
Any presidential pardon would have been the second for Bannon, who received a pardon in January 2021. Incredibly, Bannon has managed to fumble that once-in-a-lifetime clemency, and yesterday, a US District Judge ordered him to report to prison by July 1 for contempt of Congress.
Two years ago, 12 jurors convicted Bannon of refusing to provide documents and appear for a Congressional deposition. Nevertheless, the judge mercifully stayed his actual prison sentencing for those acts, pending appeals. Yesterday, however, the judge’s patience ran out. “I do not believe the original basis for my stay exists any longer,” the judge concluded.
Bannon was Trump’s White House chief strategist for half a year, then Trump fired him. Over the next few years, Bannon would go on to promote a series of failed crypto projects, including F*** Joe Biden (FJB), Himalaya Coin (HCOIN), Himalaya Dollar (HDO), and others.
Read more: Donald Trump is now ‘good with’ Bitcoin, wants its future ‘made in the USA’
Felon Steve Bannon supported Miles Guo’s crypto
One of Bannon’s favorite crypto founders was Miles Guo who used a variety of aliases: ‘Miles Kwok,’ ‘Brother Seven,’ ‘The Principal,’ or ‘Guo Wengui.’ Guo was the leader of the Himalaya-branded crypto project that Bannon promoted.
Unsurprisingly, like millions of other altcoins promoted by celebrities, Bannon’s and Guo’s tokens have collapsed to near-$0.
For his part, Guo is defending himself in his own criminal trial. US district judge Analisa Torres, who ruled somewhat favorably toward Ripple in its unrelated SEC lawsuit, is presiding over Guo’s billion-dollar criminal fraud trial.
Read more: ‘Billionaire’ crypto founder bankrupt 4 months after cigar-laced promo vid
Guo was a member of Mar-a-Lago and an ally of Trump republicans and once offered allegedly incriminating information about Hunter Biden’s laptop. He also fundraised for Trump’s ‘Million MAGA March’ and bankrolled a legal challenge to the 2020 election in Georgia.
On Thursday, Guo’s lead translator and confidante, Ya Li, cried on the witness stand while describing Guo’s sprawling, fraudulent crypto schemes. Lamenting her mistaken belief that Guo was helping investors make money or support legitimate political causes, she concluded, “the whole movement is a scam.”
Li’s final day of cross-examination continues today. The trial is led by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Guo has been in jail for months awaiting trial and is widely expected to go to prison sometime after his trial concludes this month.
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