https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Build_the_Wall

>>21854382

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Build_the_Wall

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/leaders-we-build-wall-online-fundraising-campaign-charged-defrauding-hundreds-thousands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGlz9tY0pqg Trump comments on arrest of former strategist Steve Bannon | ABC News Aug 20, 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfIcBiwch58 Steve Bannon charged in border wall fundraising scheme CNBC Television Sept 8 2022

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/26/1172343738/we-build-the-wall-founder-sentenced-prison Founder of the We Build The Wall group linked to Steve Bannon is sentenced to 4 years April 26, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/legal/bannon-associates-be-sentenced-fraud-over-trumps-border-wall-2023-04-26/ Bannon associate sentenced to 4-1/4 years for Trump border wall fraud April 26, 2023

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/steve-bannons-we-build-the-wall-scheme-trial-set-for-may-2024 Steve Bannon’s ‘We Build the Wall’ scheme trial set for May 2024 May 25, 2023

[STEVE BANNON]A Primer for NewFags. Part II

Steve Bannon received the nicknames and attributes "Sloppy Steve", "Begs Bad" and "Cries like a dog" directly from POTUS.

"President Donald Trump savaged his former chief strategist Steve Bannon on Wednesday, contending that “he not only lost his job” but also “lost his mind” when he left the White House."

“Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency,”Trump said in a statement.

"Earlier Wednesday, excerpts from an upcoming Michael Wolff book quoted Bannon, who did not join the Trump campaign until August 2016, also was quoted as saying."

In his statement, the president said Bannon — the nationalist firebrand —“had very little to do” with his electoral victory in 2016. Trump added that “Steve is learning that winning isn’t as easy as I make it look.”

“Steve pretends to be at war with the media, which he calls the opposition party, yet he spent his time at the White House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was,” Trump said.

“It is the only thing he does well. Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue, whom he helped write phony books,”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGlz9tY0pqg Trump comments on arrest of former strategist Steve Bannon | ABC News

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/03/trump-disavows-steve-bannon-he-not-only-lost-his-job-he-lost-his-mind.html

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sloppy-steve-bannon-trumps-latest-calling/story?id=52161329

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/05/trump-sloppy-steve-bannon-michael-wolff-326365

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/new-book-alleges-trump-doodles-about-sloppy-steve-bannon.html

https://rumble.com/embed/v2if110/?pub=4

Jeffrey Epstein Interview w/ Steve Bannon Teaser (4K)

"Epstein was sharing clips of the training footage with friends and that is probably how Wolff got the audiorecording. Maybe he did not receive it himself but knew someone that did and was allowed to see it and then (secretly) record it.

Epstein's brother Mark also received a clip in which Jeffrey Epstein said he stopped hanging out with Trump when he realised Trump was a crook."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNEDia5y-TU

Steve Bannon Coached Jeffrey Epstein to Appear ‘Friendly’ and ‘Sympathetic’ on TV

Bannon says he prepped the convicted sex offender in hopes of him appearing on “60 Minutes”

https://www.thewrap.com/steve-bannon-jeffrey-epstein-michael-wolff/

Steve Bannon Media-Coached Jeffrey Epstein Prior to Arrest: Report

https://www.thedailybeast.com/steve-bannon-was-media-trainer-to-jeffrey-epstein-prior-to-arrest-according-to-michael-wolff-report-says

Steve Bannon prepped Jeffrey Epstein for CBS interview, Michael Wolff claims

Ex-Trump strategist told financier to ‘stick to his message, which is that he is not a paedophile’, New York Times reports

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/sep/13/steve-bannon-jeffrey-epstein-cbs-interview-michael-wolff-book

New video shows Epstein before arrest, ‘I’m a supporter of Time’s Up’

https://nypost.com/2021/10/19/jeffrey-epstein-told-steve-bannon-im-a-supporter-of-times-up/

Steve Bannon Coached Jeffrey Epstein to Appear ‘Friendly’ and ‘Sympathetic’ on TV

Bannon says he prepped the convicted sex offender in hopes of him appearing on “60 Minutes”

A new book from Michael Wolff reveals that Steve Bannon helped Jeffrey Epstein with media training before Epstein went to prison, where he ultimately died.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that in Wolff’s forthcoming, “Too Famous: The Rich, the Powerful, the Wishful, the Notorious, the Damned,” the author shares that Bannon was preparing Epstein, a convicted child sex offender, for a “60 Minutes” interview that never happened.

“You’re engaging, you’re not threatening, you’re natural, you’re friendly, you don’t look at all creepy, you’re a sympathetic figure,” said Bannon during the early 2019 coaching and feedback session, per the book. Bannon, once a top strategist for former president Donald Trump, confirmed to the Times that he encouraged Epstein to do a “60 Minutes” interview and recorded more than 15 hours of interviews with the disgraced financier.

Bannon told the Times, however, he “never media-trained anyone,” and was instead working on an unannounced documentary to demonstrate how Epstein’s “perversions and depravity toward young women were part of a life that was systematically supported, encouraged and rewarded by a global establishment that dined off his money and his influence.”

Wolff says in his book that Bannon advised Epstein to look at the camera, not share any of his racist views on how Black people learn and stick to his message that he was not a pedophile.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 by a Florida state court of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute. He died in an apparent suicide in August 2019. He was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges was found hanged in his cell in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.

https://www.thewrap.com/steve-bannon-jeffrey-epstein-michael-wolff/

Steve Bannon Tries to Weasel His Way Out of Impending ImprisonmentNov. 09, 2023

FACE THE MUSIC

A lawyer for Steve Bannon told a federal appeals court on Thursday that the ex-Trump senior adviser should be spared jail time for a contempt of Congress conviction, seeking to overturn a district court’s sentence of four months in the slammer, The Hill reported.

Attorney David Schoen argued that Bannon was merely following the advice of counsel when he decided to ignore subpoenas from the House Jan. 6 Committee.

That counsel told Bannon at the time that he didn’t have to comply due to presidential privilege, Schoen argued. But the panel of three appeals court judges didn’t appear to buy Schoen’s argument on Thursday, saying the issue of privilege was largely irrelevant to the appeal and would not have necessarily allowed Bannon to ignore the subpoena anyway.

Bannon was supposed to report to prison in November but it was delayed while his appeal plays out.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/steve-bannon-tries-to-weasel-his-way-out-of-impending-imprisonment

Bannon appeals contempt conviction, saying he was following attorney’s advice11/09/23 3:54 PM ET

An attorney for Steve Bannon argued in federal appeals court Thursday that Bannon should not have to serve jail time for contempt of Congress because he was merely following legal advice.

The onetime senior aide to former President Trump was convicted of two counts of contempt for defying a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee. He was sentenced to four months in jail, but he has not served the sentence pending appeal.

Bannon’s appeal argument centers on the claim that Bannon never communicated with the Jan. 6 Committee directly, instead only through his attorney Robert Costello. Costello told Bannon at the time that he didn’t have to comply because of presidential privilege, so he chose not to.

Citing D.C. Appeals Court precedent, attorney David Schoen said Bannon should not be responsible for just following legal advice “honestly and in good faith.” “Even if such advice by the lawyer was an inaccurate construction of the law,” Schoen said, citing the precedent.

Schoen also argued that Trump asserted executive privilege over what Bannon was asked to testify about — the time surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riots — and therefore Bannon had a right to a trial to argue those merits.

“Advice of counsel is the defense,” Schoen said, adding that presidential privilege is “presumptively valid.”

But the panel of three appeals court judges pushed back on the privilege argument, noting that the fact of whether privilege was asserted is not directly relevant to the appeal and that privilege does not necessarily excuse ignoring a subpoena without other legal action.

“I ask the court to consider in the broader picture: How should a lay person respond when a lay person gets a subpoena from a committee and have all communications through the lawyer and the lawyer tells him or her, in definitive terms, they may not comply, their hands are tied?” Schoen questioned.

“At least let a jury decide whether that was reasonable or appropriate advice, whether the lawyer had all of the facts, but let the jury decide.”

“We don’t treat a person who believes he or she is acting in full compliance with the law … the same as a wrongdoer … a mobster who just didn’t show up,” he concluded.

But the prosecuting attorney Elizabeth Danello arguing against the appeal countered, saying Bannon had full knowledge and intent to break the law by not following the subpoena.

“Bannon deliberately chose not to comply in any way with a lawful congressional subpoena,” Danello argued. “Not to provide a single document, not even to show up for his deposition. That was contempt of Congress, and he was properly convicted.”

The District Court previously ruled that Bannon’s “good faith” arguments were invalid, and Danello reinforced this point.

“The Supreme Court and this court have held that the mens rea element for contempt of Congress requires only that the defendant acted deliberately and intentionally,” she said, referring to criminal intent. “Good faith, including advice of counsel, is not a defense.”

“Intentional violation is sufficient to constitute guilt,” she added, citing additional Supreme Court precedent.

The House voted to hold four people in contempt in connection with the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation: Bannon, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and former Trump adviser Peter Navarro.

The Justice Department ultimately declined to charge Meadows and Scavino, but did bring charges against both Bannon and Navarro. Navarro was found guilty in September and has requested a new trial.

If the appellate court sides with the district court decision, Bannon will be forced to serve his four-month sentence unless he attempts to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4302684-bannon-appeals-contempt-conviction/

[STEVE BANNON]A Primer for NewFags. Part III

While Steve Bannon certainly appears to be a Traitor caught in a Trap. What of his Associates? Who are they? Are they Maga or [MAGA]?

Alex Jones is one Associate and what do the drops say concerning Alex Jones, Infowars and Associates?

What did Alex say concerning POTUS' COVID WARP SPEED plan? POTUS is Stupid or Evil?

What did Alex and Flynn say concerning POTUS' actions on Jan 06? POTUS is Careless and/or even attempted to incite Violence on Jan 06?

The Alex Jones Show (03/24/23) FULL SHOW Former Head of Defense Intelligence Agency General Michael Flynn Joins Alex Jones to Lay Out CRITICAL Information Concerning Future of Humanity & How to Stop WW3

https://rumble.com/v2eotim-the-alex-jones-show-032423-full-show.html and here: https://rumble.com/embed/v2c3dya/?pub=4

Did Steve Bannon call Alex Jones one of the Greatest Political Thinkers of this Generation?

Did Steve Bannon promote and strongly support Archbishop Maria Vigano? and Vigano's minion and fellow Catholic Crusader Taylor "traitor" Marshall?

Did Archbishop Vigano disown POTUS over POTUS' support of LGBTQ?

https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/trump-hosts-gala-for-homosexual-republicans-after-biden-signs-same-sex-marriage-law/

Did Vigano say that POTUS was deep state also?

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/abp-vigano-trumps-lgbt-gala-shows-deep-state-has-contaminated-the-entire-political-elite/

Did Taylor Marshall use veiled Biblical Death threats aimed at POTUS? "WORTHY OF DEATH".

https://youtu.be/AglQWAntgas < Youtube Url Link NOW MARKED AS PRIVATE

Did Vigano, Taylor Marshall and the now deceased George Neumayer all turn on POTUS at exactly the same time, December 22 2022?

https://spectator.org/to-trump-your-support-for-gay-propaganda-will-not-make-america-great-again/

Did Taylor Marshall say that the only cure for the U.S. Political problems is a Catholic Monarchy?!

Did a prominent Catholic that was allowed to join POTUS re election team in order to bridge the divide between POTUS and U.S. Catholics say that the only way forward for the U.S. was a Catholic Monarchy?

Steve Bannon also promotes RNC Strategist Caroline Wren, Jack Posobiec, former employee Ben Shapiro, MG SHOW INTHEMATRIXXX employee Karli Bonne aka Karli Q aka Poissant and a slew of other Clowns.

The list of people who look like Clowns which swirl about Steve Bannon is long…

https://rumble.com/embed/v2if110/?pub=4

[STEVE BANNON]A Primer for NewFags. Part IV

When POTUS last went on Bannon's Warroom Show, the Scene was set to reveal this albeit in a very subtle way.

POTUS chose to talk about Ron Desantis yet while using the exact same wording that applied to Bannon.

POTUS told Bannon that Ron Desantis "Begged" and "Cried" for POTUS' support only to later turn on POTUS which is exactly what Steve did.

POTUS was talking directly to Bannon by indirectly using Desantis and Astute anons picked up on this.

Notice the Painting behind Bannon in the Interview. Please look very closely…

Video link:https://rumble.com/embed/v2if110/?pub=4POTUS on Steve Bannon's Warroom Coded Messages - Hidden Skull Image 04/28/2023

https://rumble.com/v2l0gj0-whats-been-going-on-and-whats-to-come.html

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book.

He used 'Sloppy Steve Bannon', who cried when he got fired and 'begged' for his job.

Now 'Sloppy Steve' has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too 'bad'!

11:32 PM · Jan 5, 2018

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/949498795074736129

Timestamp 1:39POTUS talking to Steve Bannon about French President MacronPOTUS"Macron is a great guy. He's like… you know he's a 'Wise Guy' and all that stuff. You'd like him."

The Code: POTUS reminds Sloppy Steve that he is a Criminal or Wise guy. "You'd like him".

Timestamp: 6:23POTUS talking to Steve Bannon about disloyal Ron DesanctimoniousPOTUS"You know it's always 'bad'. You endorse somebody, he's dead, he's, he's over, his political career… he's lucky to get a job, comes to me and 'begs me' for an endorsement…"

The Code: Sloppy Steve 'Begged Bad' and Ron Desanctimonious 'Begged Bad' just like Steve Bannon did.

POTUS reminds Sloppy Steve of his own history and betrayal of POTUS and the PLAN by using very similar wording when explaining Ron Desantis.

WISE GUY/WISEGUY definitions:

https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/wise-guy 1: chiefly US : a person who says or does things that are funny but also annoying or somewhat rude 2: US usually wiseguy : someone who is part of a secret organized group of criminals : mobster

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wise%20guy 2 : usually wiseguy ˈwīz-ˌgī : mobster

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/wise-guy 2. A mobster.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/wise–guy noun Informal. a cocksure, conceited, and often insolent person; smart aleck: Words related to wise guy know-it-all, mobster, bigmouth, smart-ass, smarty-pants, wiseacre, wiseass, wisenheimer, mafioso, criminal, crook, hood

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wise_guy (US, slang) A member of the Mafia; a mobster.

>>21854418

>>21854415

>>21273725

>>21273722

>>21273720

>>21273718

>>21273712

>>21273709

>>21273706

>>21273705

JUST LOOK AT HOW STUPID AND BRIGHTREEE YOU GROW!!!

>>21273689 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65019134

>>21273690 Guo Wengui: How a Chinese tycoon built a pro-Trump money machine

>>21273691 double agent working for the Chinese government==

>>21273693 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65019134

>>21273694 PRIMER ON STEVE BANNON

>>21273697 STEVE BANNON > GRACIE CHONG > BANNON WORKS FOR THE CCP? > GRACIE IS A FUCKING SPY FOR THE CCP?

>>21273700 BANNON HELPED EPSTEIN FOR FUNDING

>>21273698

>>21273698

>>21273698

>>21273698

'''Protecting a CCP spy that ripped off Chinese dissidents in the US and abroad is really bringing out your concerns yet better yet is the connections to Steve Bannon Gracie Chong > Karli Bonne/Poissant > MG SHOW > [P] = PAYSEUR'''

I MEAN… IF YOU DONT WANT TO GLOW… YOU MIGHT WANT TO THINK ABOUT NOT DELETING SHIT LIKE THIS

21273689 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65019134

21273690 Guo Wengui: How a Chinese tycoon built a pro-Trump money machine

21273691 double agent working for the Chinese government==

21273693 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65019134

21273694 PRIMER ON STEVE BANNON

21273697 STEVE BANNON GRACIE CHONG > BANNON WORKS FOR THE CCP? > GRACIE IS A FUCKING SPY FOR THE CCP?

21273700 BANNON HELPED EPSTEIN FOR FUNDING

21273698

21273698

21273698

21273698

'''Protecting a CCP spy that ripped off Chinese dissidents in the US and abroad is really bringing out your concerns yet better yet is the connections to Steve Bannon Gracie Chong > Karli Bonne/Poissant > MG SHOW > [P] = PAYSEUR'''

I MEAN… IF YOU DONT WANT TO GLOW… YOU MIGHT WANT TO THINK ABOUT NOT DELETING SHIT LIKE THIS

>>21854418

>>21854422

>>21854424

>>21854427

Where are you?

https://www.opentracker.net/feature/ip-tracker?ip=77.73.68.181

https://8kun.top/qresearch/catalog.html

https://www.duffelblog.com/p/russia-grants-snowden-citizenship

Mar 11, 2019 12:31:23 AM EDT Drop #3023

Q !!mG7VJxZNCI ID: 8c541b No. 5618056

Mar 11, 2019 12:27:15 AM EDT

Q !!mG7VJxZNCI ID: 8c541b No. 5617930

Mar 11, 2019 12:19:05 AM EDT

Q !!mG7VJxZNCI ID: 8c541b No. 5617724

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/12/us/nsa-shadow-brokers.html

@Snowden

Parades or Restraints?

[2019]

Q

>>5617724

Connect the dots?

@Snowden released code words (NSA_key(s)).

@Snowden travels toRUSSIA.

Shadow Brokers release actual code (NSA_key(s)).

Shadow Brokers ORIG inRUSSIA.

Can you make the connection why @Snowden went toRUSSIA?

Can you make the connection who provided the source code toSHADOW BROKERS?

Define'Spook'.

Define'Shadow'.

Do 'Spooks' hide in the 'Shadows'?

STAND STRONG, GINA.

Q

>>5617930

Who was Agency DIR from 2012- 2016?

[AGENCY DIR]

[JOHN PERRY BARLOW]

How did we know (prior to)?

Q

Mar 20, 2019 2:24:35 PM EDT 3126

Q !!mG7VJxZNCI ID: b16726 No. 5792112

Did both of HUSSEIN's parents learn'RUSSIAN'?

Is'RUSSIAN'a common language to learn?

Think then.

Think now.

[Think Nellie Ohr]

WHY WOULD YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO SPEAK'RUSSIAN'IN THEIR FIELDS OF PRACTICE ('PUBLIC' FIELDS)?

The Cold War.

[AB[C]]DEFGHIJKLM…….

Q

Aug 16, 2018 12:38:24 PM EDT1908

Q !!mG7VJxZNCI ID: 489187 No. 2628352

Ask yourself simple questions.

If ES was trying to travel to UIO from HKG.

Why would he route through Russia?

How many direct flights (per day) from HKG to UIO?

What if Russia was the original target?

Ask yourself, would you NOT want to be at your preferred destination PRIOR TO going public?

Logical thinking.

Q

Apr 27, 2018 11:57:57 PM EDT 1290

Q !xowAT4Z3VQ ID: 5086f0 No. 1218390

Apr 27, 2018 11:53:46 PM EDT

Anonymous ID: 6a7ca4 No. 1218316

Apr 27, 2018 11:52:40 PM EDT

Q !xowAT4Z3VQ ID: 5086f0 No. 1218299

Peace on the Korean Peninsula isn’t big news?

Should we drop a #MOAB on that?

Timetables shift.

[Next Week].

Q

>>1218299

Q. Normies only watch CNN. They don't even know ANY of this is happening.

We are too smug.

>>1218316

Hope not.

Might as well go sit in the CIA.

Russia grounding our military planes in SYRIA.

Military aircraft crashing in US.

Coincidence?

Autists need Red Bull?

Q

Jan 27, 2018 1:09:33 PM ESTQ drop #628

Q !UW.yye1fxo ID: 000000 No. 70

@Snowden.

The clock is ticking.

How's Russia?

[Mr. Contractor]

Freedom of the Press.

John Perry Barlow.

https://freedom.press

SecureDrop [Whistleblowers]?

SecureDrop>CLOWNS In America.

NOBODY IS SAFE.

Q

Steve Bannon’s trial in border wall fundraising scheme case set for December

While Steve Bannon serves a four-month federal prison term, the conservative strategist now has a December date for a different trial in New York,…

35 minutes ago

Law.com

Steve Bannon Trial for Defrauding 'We Build The Wall' Donors Set for December

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is set to face trial in New York state court in December on charges he defrauded donors attempting to…

38 minutes ago

New York Post

Ex-Trump official Steve Bannon to stand trial for alleged ‘We Build the Wall’ scam in December

Former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon will stand trial in December for his alleged involvement in a $15 million border wall fundraising scam,…

1 hour ago

Law360

Bannon To Face Border Wall Trial After Release From Prison

Steve Bannon's New York trial on charges that he stole donor money earmarked for a wall along the southern U.S. border will begin on Dec.

2 hours ago

The Guardian

Bannon border-wall fraud trial to begin in December after contempt term ends

Trump ally, in prison for defying congressional subpoena, accused of conning donors who gave money for border wall.

2 hours ago

WDRB

Steve Bannon's trial in border wall fundraising case set for December, after his ongoing prison term

While conservative strategist Steve Bannon is serving a four-month federal prison term, he's got another trial coming up. A New York state judge on Tuesday…

2 hours ago

thebharatexpressnews@gmail.com

Steve Bannon's trial in the border wall fundraising case is scheduled for December, following his

While Steve Bannon is serving a four-month prison sentence, the conservative strategist now has a trial scheduled for December in New York, where he is…

2 hours ago

MSN

Bannon to go on trial later this year for alleged fraud in border wall fundraiser

Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon will stand trial beginning Dec. 9 on charges he defrauded donors to an online effort to raise money for a wall along the U.S….

2 hours ago

thederrick.com

Steve Bannon's trial in border wall fundraising case set for December, after his ongoing prison term

While Steve Bannon serves a four-month federal prison term, the conservative strategist now has a December date for a different trial in New York,…

3 hours ago

Guo Wengui: How a Chinese tycoon built a pro-Trump money machine

An exiled Chinese billionaire has now been found guilty of multiple charges, including fraud and money laundering. Here's a look into how Guo Wengui, who built up a real estate empire in China, went on to run a billion dollar scam in the US.

In early June 2020, at the tail end of the city's first Covid lockdown, a fleet of small planes baffled New Yorkers.

They circled overhead towing banners that read: "Congratulations to the New Federal State of China" and flew an unfamiliar-looking blue flag.

Was it a prank? A stunt? Weird propaganda?

The mystery was solved a few days later when Guo and former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon appeared live online.

Together on a boat near the Statue of Liberty, with the same blue flag in the background, they awkwardly took turns speaking to the camera.

"We must eliminate Marxism-Leninism, the pariah and totalitarian regime of the Chinese Communist Party," Guo declared.

It was the latest collaboration between the two men, who built large networks of online followers based on their shared obsessions: opposition to China's rulers, fealty to the Trump wing of the Republican Party, and conspiracy theories about Covid and vaccines.

Four years after that livestream, Guo was found guilty on nine out of the 12 criminal counts he faced, including racketeering, fraud and money laundering.

The money trail

According to prosecutors, Guo used his connections and online influence to defraud his supporters.

Thousands of Chinese dissidents - most living abroad - sent money, thinking they were buying shares in his businesses and cryptocurrency.

But instead of being invested, authorities say, the money was used by Guo and a London-based business partner, Kin Ming Je, to fund extravagant purchases - including expensive properties, a yacht, sports cars, risky hedge fund investments, $1 million worth of rugs and a $140,000 piano.

The BBC spoke to several followers who say they gave thousands of dollars to Guo's organisations.

"I watched his livestreams every day," said Coco, a Chinese immigrant who has been living in the US for a decade. We are not using her full name because she fears retribution from Guo's followers.

"The videos are very sensational… and we trust[ed] him completely," she said.

Like many of his followers, Coco was drawn in by Guo's opposition to the Chinese Communist Party, and his claims to have access to dirt on senior Chinese officials.

She became suspicious after investing in GTV, a media company founded by Guo and Bannon. She got invited to a WhatsApp group promising exclusive access to the tycoon, and joined protests outside the home of one of Guo's opponents. She says the protesters were meant to get paid, but never did.

"We slowly discovered that he never fulfilled his promises," she said.

Coco says she invested $6,000. One of her friends apparently gave more than $100,000 in order to become a "chair" - a member of Guo's inner circle.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65019134