Steve Bannon Allegedly Threatened Former Trump Advisor to Shield Chinese Billionaire from Rape Charges
Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Steve Bannon, former chief strategist for Donald Trump, allegedly threatened to ruin the life of a former Trump political advisor if he didn’t help protect fugitive Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, from rape allegations, according to a report published by Mother Jones on Thursday.
In 2018, Bannon reportedly pressured Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign aide, to appear in a video defending Guo against the accusations. Nunberg recounted that Bannon warned him of dire consequences if he refused. “You have to cooperate, and this can be dropped,” Bannon allegedly told Nunberg. “Otherwise Kwok is going to bankrupt you and ruin your life.”
Nunberg resisted Bannon’s demand, and days later, Guo filed a defamation lawsuit against him, according to court records. This legal action marked the beginning of a battle between Nunberg and Guo, who was facing serious allegations of sexual assault.
Guo had been accused by a former personal assistant of rape, and she also filed a lawsuit in New York City in 2017. The assistant claimed that she had been held captive, verbally abused, and physically attacked for two years before she managed to escape, Mother Jones reported. Guo has denied the charges.
In July, Guo was convicted by a New York jury on federal charges of defrauding hundreds of millions of dollars from an anti-Chinese Communist Party movement he co-founded with Bannon. Although Bannon was named as a co-conspirator in the case, he has not been charged.
The Mother Jones report highlights Bannon’s deep involvement in Guo’s operations, describing him as central to Guo’s political and financial activities in the United States. “Bannon’s alleged threat to Nunberg highlights how deeply enmeshed in Guo’s operations the former Trump campaign chief was,” the report notes.
Bannon’s connection to Guo has long raised eyebrows, particularly after Bannon was arrested on Guo’s yacht in 2020 in an unrelated case. However, Mother Jones suggests that Bannon’s involvement with Guo may be even more extensive than previously known or publicly acknowledged.
Neither Bannon, currently serving a four-month federal prison sentence for contempt of Congress, nor Guo responded to Mother Jones’ requests for comment. The case continues to shine a light on the murky and controversial relationship between Bannon and the Chinese billionaire.
