Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach wants to appear at Steve Bannon’s hearing later this month to discuss a motion secretly filed about an alleged border-wall scam.
Kobach, who is not accused of wrongdoing, is general counsel for We Build the Wall, which prosecutors say defrauded donors who did not know that their contributions lined the pockets of Bannon and his alleged co-conspirators.
Although We Build the Wall promised that “100%” of $25 million that it crowdfunded would construct a barrier along the U.S. southern border, Bannon took at least $1 million from the charity, and its president Brian Kolfage took $350,000 and spent donors’ money on a Jupiter Marine yacht called the Warfighter, a Range Rover SUV, a golf cart, jewelry, cosmetic surgery, personal tax payments and his credit card debt, prosecutors say.
Though he won’t be seated at the defense table on Dec. 16, Kobach might have a dog in the fight. Prosecutors have advanced many allegations about the charity where he provided legal services. The government said the investigation is ongoing, and Kobach filed a sealed motion in response to a similarly sealed order.
If the contents of those secret docket entries come up in court, Kobach and his attorney say they want to be there.
“As set forth in our motion, our intention is not to ‘intervene’ in the criminal case or appeal, but merely to participate with respect to our motion, including at any court proceeding discussing that motion,” his attorney Justin S. Weddle wrote in a letter on Friday. “If the Court does not intend to discuss this pending motion, we intend to observe via the publicly available audio link.”
The upcoming hearing will be the first since Bannon called for lame-duck President Donald Trump to place Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI director Christopher Wray’s “heads on pikes.”
Bannon’s attorneys moved to withdraw the day after the inflammatory pronouncement.
Read the letter below:
(Image via YouTube screengrab)
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