[homoe]

Steve Bannon, a former chief strategist in President Donald Trump’s White House, was arrested on Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on federal charges for allegedly using hundreds of thousands of dollars from an online “We Build The Wall” fundraiser to cover his personal expenses.

He pleaded not guilty at a hearing Thursday afternoon.

Bannon and three others ― Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea ― were charged in connection with their roles in “defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign known as ‘We Build the Wall’ that raised more than $25 million,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Thursday morning. The four defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Following news of the indictments, Trump on Thursday tried to distance himself from Bannon, who was a top aide on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

“Well, I feel very badly,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I haven’t been dealing with him for a long period of time. ... He worked for a lot of companies. But he was involved likewise in our campaign and for a small part of the administration very early on. I haven’t been dealing with him at all.”

Trump said he knows “nothing” about the “We Build the Wall” campaign.

“When I read about it, I didn’t like it,” he said. “I said, this is for government, this isn’t for private people. ... But you’ll have to see what happens. I think it’s a very sad thing for Mr. Bannon. I think it was surprising.”