Donald Trump Jr. attended an event in New Mexico in 2018 and stood alongside a man named Brian Kolfage, who was helping lead an initiative called We Build the Wall. The then-president’s son said at the time, “What you guys are doing is amazing.”
On the surface, what those guys appeared to be doing was an ambitious project: We Build the Wall said it was raising private funds to build barriers along the U.S./Mexico border. But below the surface, what those guys were actually doing really was “amazing,” but not in a good way.
The Associated Press reported yesterday that two of the men who oversaw the operation were sentenced to prison “for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors.”
Brian Kolfage, a decorated Air Force veteran who lost both of his legs and an arm in the Iraq War, previously pleaded guilty for his role in siphoning donations from the We Build the Wall campaign. A co-defendant, financier Andrew Badolato, was also sentenced to three years for aiding the effort. He had also pleaded guilty. … Kolfage and Badolato were also ordered to pay $25 million in restitution to the victims.
Chances are, most Americans aren’t familiar with Kolfage and Badolato, but it’s a safe bet you’ve heard of their former partner: Steve Bannon.
In fact, when Bannon was criminally indicted in August 2020, it had nothing to do with the work he’d done for Donald Trump and everything to do with his role in the We Build the Wall project.
For those who might need a refresher, We Build the Wall came into existence partway through Trump’s term, ostensibly created to supplement the Republican White House’s efforts to construct barriers along the U.S./Mexico border. While the Trump administration used taxpayer money to construct fencing, We Build the Wall said it would raise private funds from donors in pursuit of the same goal.
As a high-profile political player, Bannon’s role as a board member of the outfit lent it credibility. It wasn’t long…
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