Steve Bannon sought 'bizarre' loan against home he doesn't own after being indicted in Jan. 6 probe: report

Trump adviser Steve Bannon sought a loan against a Connecticut property he doesn't even own three weeks after being indicted for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to documents reviewed by the Daily Beast.

"The materials, addressed directly to Bannon at the $1.5 million stone estate in the plush suburban town of Wilton, do not reveal the amount of money sought, nor what Bannon sought it for," the Daily Beast reported, noting that the property is linked to one of Bannon's troubled nonprofits.

"It is unclear if the money ever came through, because the bank signaled in the documents it might want an appraisal of the five-acre compound, with its in-ground pool and guest house—and Bannon in fact does not own the home or any stake in it," according to the report. "Rather, public records and private communications The Daily Beast uncovered show that the property briefly belonged to the Rule of Law Society, a nonprofit Bannon founded in 2018 with fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui."

A company helmed by two officers of the Rule of Law Society purchased the home in early August 2020, weeks before Bannon was arrested on Guo's yacht for embezzling money from his We Build the Wall nonprofit. However, the Rule of Law Society officers sold the home three months later.

"Making the date listed on the mortgage request even stranger, CNBC reported that Bannon had left the Rule of Law Society—which purports to promote democracy in mainland China—in August 2021," the Daily Beast reported. "His co-founder, Guo Wengui, has since been embroiled in a cryptocurrency controversy that saw his companies cough up half a billion dollars to the Securities and Exchange Commission and has faced recriminations from former aides and supporters."

Read the full story.