Steve Bannon�s lawyers want out of his border-wall fraud case, telling a judge Thursday that he is unwilling to speak with them directly and that they have �irreconcilable� differences about how to proceed.

Bannon, a conservative rabble-rouser and longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, has until a Feb. 28 hearing to find new counsel, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan said. His current lawyers, David Schoen and John Mitchell, must stay on the case until then, the judge said.

�We just have a different view about strategy in the case and recognized that our differences about the approach to the case are irreconcilable,� Schoen said. �His approach could well be the right one, but he deserves a lawyer in sync with his view of the case. It is nothing personal. It is his case, and he should have it handled in the manner he wants.�

Bannon, 69, has pleaded not guilty to duping donors who gave money to build a wall on the southern U.S. border. The case, brought by New York prosecutors in November, is a state-level version of a federal case cut short in 2021 by a presidential pardon.

Bannon is charged with money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges related to the �We Build the Wall� campaign. No trial date has been set, and Merchan questioned whether the lawyer dispute was a delay tactic. The case is effectively on hold while Bannon hires new lawyers and those lawyers get up to speed.

Manhattan prosecutors working in conjunction with the state attorney general�s office allege that although Bannon promised all donations would go to constructing the wall, he was involved in transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars to third-party entities and used them to funnel payments to two other people involved in the scheme.

In another case, Bannon was convicted in July of contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He was sentenced in October to four months in jail, but remains free while he appeals.

(AP)