Kobach says We Build the Wall shutting down, as Bannon faces new fraud charges

Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach said Wednesday that We Build the Wall, the scandal–plagued nonprofit that raised funds to construct privately-funded border wall, is in the process of shutting down as former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was expected to face new charges that he defrauded contributors to the effort.

Kobach, the Republican candidate for Kansas attorney general, remains on We Build the Wall’s board of directors. He explained his continuing connection as necessary to wind down an organization that once boasted millions in contributions.

“Now you have to do an orderly shutdown of the corporation and there has to be some attorney involved to actually make it happen,” Kobach told reporters Wednesday night after a Kansas Chamber of Commerce event in Olathe.

Kobach’s comments came just hours after The Washington Post and other news outlets reported that Bannon was expected to surrender to authorities to New York prosecutors on Thursday to face an indictment.

Bannon officially turned himself in at a New York City courthouse on Thursday morning, hours after Kobach revealed the border wall group’s imminent shutdown. He faces charges of money laundering, scheming to defraud and conspiracy, according to a report from NBC. We Build the Wall was also indicted alongside Bannon.

In 2020, Bannon pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he defrauded donors to We Build the Wall. Former President Donald Trump pardoned Bannon in his final hours in office in January 2021. Presidential pardons do not protect against state-level criminal charges.

In July, Bannon was found guilty by a federal jury of two counts of contempt of Congress. Those charges were related to his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Kobach, who served as the group’s general counsel, said the alleged criminal conduct centered on “supposed agreements made when the thing first started. I came on after that. They brought me in to figure out how you build a wall on private land legally.”

Kobach said he isn’t in any legal jeopardy and he hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing.

Asked about his current relationship with Bannon, Kobach said he had appeared on Bannon’s show multiple times.

“We’ve gotten to know each other pretty well over the past,” Kobach said, adding that he first met Bannon when Kobach interviewed with Trump to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Federal court filings after the charges showed the organization owed Kobach at least $75,000. Last year Kobach was still unsuccessfully fighting in court to obtain access to the group’s funds, which were frozen when federal charges were filed.

Kelli Kee, a spokesperson for Democratic attorney general candidate Chris Mann, said Kobach as legal counsel holds some responsibility for any illegal activity at the organization.

“It’s long since time that they shut the organization down,” Kee said. “I don’t think Kansans can forget how Kobach scammed them.”

This story has been updated to reflect Bannon’s Thursday surrender to authorities and to clarify the timing of Kobach’s comments.