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=<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/federal-prosecutors-have-steve-bannons-murky-nonprofit-in-their-sights">https://www.propublica.org/article/federal-prosecutors-have-steve-bannons-murky-nonprofit-in-their-sights</a><p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="1.0" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Near the end of a lengthy indictment detailing fraud allegations against Stephen Bannon, former Donald Trump campaign CEO and chief strategist and his associates, federal prosecutors reveal that they intend to seize the assets of a murky nonprofit organization Bannon launched in 2017 to promote “economic nationalism.”<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="1.1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The group is Citizens of the American Republic, a California-based nonprofit that serves as a platform for Bannon’s films and podcasts that promote Trump’s ideology. Throughout the 24-page indictment, the group appears to be referenced as “Non-Profit-1” in a scheme in which Bannon and his partners were allegedly looting a crowdsourced charity, We Build the Wall, for personal gain. The indictment never outright states that “Non-Profit-1” is Citizens of the American Republic, but it describes it as an “organization founded by [Bannon] with the stated purpose of promoting economic nationalism and American sovereignty,” which closely matches the nonprofit’s own stated aims.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="1.2" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The indictment alleges that “Non-Profit-1” received over $1 million through the scheme and funneled part of it to Brian Kolfage, the military veteran who raised money to build a privately funded wall to help Trump block off the southern border.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="1.2" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The document also sheds light on an oblique financial trail linking a loose-knit group of private businesses and nonprofit organizations politically aligned with Trump. In addition to Bannon’s nonprofit and We Build the Wall, federal investigators are moving to seize assets from four other entities, including two affiliated with Kolfage — a defunct right-wing news site called Freedom Daily that operated out of Florida and America First Medical, a medical supplies company Kolfage formed in Wyoming to sell masks in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="1.2" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">U.S. rules allowing so-called dark money groups like Bannon’s to hide the identity of their donors helps them maintain a shroud of secrecy, which is only partially pierced by a criminal indictment and the subpoena power of investigators.<aside data-pp-blocktype="canned-promo" class="canned-promo partnership-texastribune large left" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.625rem 0px; padding: 1rem 120.188px; border-width: 1px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(216, 214, 211); border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(216, 214, 211); border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: none; clear: left; width: 808.125px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p class="dek" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.625rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;" /></aside><p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="3.2" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The only reason any of this is coming to light is it turns out that the money that was being collected wasn’t necessarily used for the promised purposes and instead it was used to enrich someone,” said Daniel Weiner, deputy director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Election Reform Program. “The secrecy, at least for the people who helped design the system, is a feature not a bug.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="5.0" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Kolfage <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-indictment-war-hero-insight/decorated-veteran-at-center-of-u-s-fraud-charges-on-border-wall-fundraising-idUSKBN25H27G" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">told Reuters</a> in 2019 that he had earned seven figures through creating and selling conservative websites like Freedom Daily.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="5.1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;">Bannon played a critical role in helping Kolfage set up We Build the Wall Inc. after GoFundMe, the crowdfunding platform he had been using, accumulated millions in donations from supporters, the indictment charges. GoFundMe demanded that Kolfage set up a legitimate nonprofit to accept donations. The effort ultimately raised over $25 million after promising — falsely, the indictment alleges — that the donations would not benefit Kolfage.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="5.2" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;">That “removes all self-interest taint” and gives “Brian Kolfage saint hood,” stated Andrew Badolato, a longtime Bannon associate who was also indicted, in a text to Bannon that prosecutors quoted. Badolato and his lawyer did not respond to emails requesting comment.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="5.3" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bannon promoted the wall effort on his podcast “War Room: Pandemic” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7hvhjM65-w" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">as recently as Wednesday</a>, when he had Kolfage on to discuss the situation at the border.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="5.4" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“You’ve been the leader of this, assisting President Trump in building this wall in these tough areas,” Bannon said to Kolfage.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><aside data-pp-id="6" data-pp-blocktype="promo" class="promo large left" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.625rem 0px; padding: 1rem 120.188px; border-width: 1px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(216, 214, 211); border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(216, 214, 211); border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: none; clear: left; width: 808.125px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h3 class="aside-head" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.3; vertical-align: baseline;">[Read More</h3><div class="story-entry section-articles" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1rem 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="description" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><h4 class="hed" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.3; vertical-align: baseline; text-indent: inherit; text-transform: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit;"><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/he-built-a-privately-funded-border-wall-its-already-at-risk-of-falling-down-if-not-fixed" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">He Built a Privately Funded Border Wall. It’s Already at Risk of Falling Down if Not Fixed.</a></h4><p class="dek" style="font-weight: inherit; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.375rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-indent: inherit; text-transform: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit;">Trump supporters funded a private border wall on the banks of the Rio Grande, helping the builder secure $1.7 billion in federal contracts. Now the “Lamborghini” of border walls is in danger of falling into the river if nothing is done, experts say.</div></div></aside><p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="7.0" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;">Bannon was arrested on Thursday by federal agents in Connecticut while on board a superyacht owned by wealthy Chinese businessman Guo Wengui. Guo also <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/steve-bannon-guo-wengui-private-jet-campaign-finance-law" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">allowed Bannon</a> to use his private jet to fly around promoting Republican congressional candidates in 2018, an arrangement that experts said could run afoul of campaign finance laws banning foreign donations.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="7.1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bannon and his lawyers did not return emails from ProPublica requesting comment. He <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/stephen-bannon-arrested-charged/2020/08/20/6d46847c-e2ea-11ea-b69b-64f7b0477ed4_story.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">told reporters</a> after posting bond that the indictment was a “fiasco” to “stop people who want to build the wall.” On Friday, Kolfage wrote on his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Brian.Kolfage.jr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Facebook page</a> that the indictment is a “witch hunt” and the work of a “weaponized judicial system” trying to take down Trump insiders.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="7.2" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Kolfage did not return an email from ProPublica for comment after the indictment. On Thursday, Trump continued to distance himself from We Build the Wall, telling reporters that he thought “it was done for showboating reasons” and that he didn’t know that Bannon was linked to the group. A spokesperson for Trump told Fox News that the president did not know the other people involved with the project.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="7.3" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;">Citizens of the American Republic raised around $4.5 million in 2018, according to its <a href="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/editorialfiles/2020/01/29/COAR2018Form990PublicDisclosureCopy.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">tax filings</a>, most of which came through six- and seven-figure donations from just a handful of donors, whose names are not disclosed. A single donor gave $2 million. The group’s purpose is to “educate the American people” about issues including “economic nationalism,” “social policy and respect for traditional American values” and “America First foreign policy,” among other issues, according to the filing.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="7.4" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The group’s <a href="https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/823509136_201712_990EO_2018082115604556.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">first filings</a>, for the 2017 tax year, show no donations to the nonprofit. The 2018 tax filings show transactions that occurred prior to the timeline covered in the federal indictment.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="7.5" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As a “social welfare” nonprofit organized under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code, the organization is not required to disclose its donors. The contact number listed on the group’s tax forms belongs to its accountant, Robert Watkins, who did not return a message requesting comment.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="7.6" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The organization made just $15,000 in grants in 2018. The filings show $250,000 in loans and payments to Bannon’s film company and $40,000 in payments to Bannon’s nephew, Sean.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><aside data-pp-id="8" data-pp-blocktype="promo" class="promo small right" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 8.29688px 0px 33.2344px 33.2344px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: right; clear: right; width: 327.328px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h3 class="aside-head" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.625rem 0px 0px; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(216, 214, 211); border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.3; vertical-align: baseline;">Read More</h3><div class="story-entry section-articles" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1rem 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="lead-art" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;">
</div><div class="description" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><h4 class="hed" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-indent: inherit; text-transform: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit;"><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/steve-bannon-guo-wengui-private-jet-campaign-finance-law" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;">Steve Bannon’s Use of Private Jet Linked to Chinese Businessman Could Violate Campaign Finance Law</a></h4><p class="dek" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-indent: inherit; text-transform: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit;">The former Trump adviser used a plane apparently owned by businessman Guo Wengui. Americans are barred from receiving services for campaigns donated by foreign nationals.</div></div></aside><p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="9.0" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;">Bannon is the group’s president and is described as working 80 hours a week for the group with no salary. His sister Mary E. Meredith, who is vice president, earned $20,000 for her 40 hours per week of work. Meredith did not respond to messages requesting comment. Other top officials are Dan Fleuette, a longtime Bannon associate, and lawyer Cleta Mitchell. Fleuette did not respond to a LinkedIn message requesting an interview.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="9.1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Mitchell has served on the boards of several right-leaning nonprofits, including the National Rifle Association and the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, led by Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore. She declined an interview request.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="9.2" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;">The filings show more than $1.1 million flowing out of the nonprofit to various large vendors, although the nature of their work is unclear. Nearly $850,000 went toward travel, and more than $1.4 million to “conferences, conventions and meetings.” The filing says that Citizens of the American Republic funded two Bannon documentaries, about the 2016 campaign and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and paid for promoting them.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="9.3" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In 2018, Citizens of the American Republic paid nearly $144,000 to a company called Platinum Advertising Corporation for “websites/social media.” The address given for Platinum Advertising in the filing, 30 N. Gould St., Suite R, in Sheridan, Wyoming, is the same address as the medical supplies company Kolfage formed, America First Medical.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="9.4" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;">Wyoming has particularly lax business transparency laws, and Platinum Advertising appears to be a shell corporation. Its secretary is listed in <a href="https://wyobiz.wyo.gov/Business/FilingDetails.aspx?eFNum=059000168148210110228055038201108214186047063162" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">state filings</a> as Gerald Pitts, the founder and president of Wyoming Corporate Services, which specializes in incorporating businesses to shield assets from taxation or disclosure. A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/oukwd-uk-usa-shell-companies-idAFTRE75R22L20110628" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">2011 investigation by Reuters</a> found that Pitts was listed as “a director, president or principal for at least 41 companies” registered at a single address in Wyoming.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="11.0" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Pitts did not respond to an email requesting comment.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="11.1" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A second company paid by Citizens of the American Republic, Fortress FM, received more than $191,000 in 2018 for “security, logistics, and training.” The company address listed on the 2018 filing is a post office box in Cheyenne, Wyoming, that is also used by a firm of accountants, <a href="https://wyobiz.wyo.gov/Business/FilingDetails.aspx?eFNum=122154231174036130134174207190125222097062022097" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Kercher-Jarrett LLC</a>.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="11.2" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">T. Gary Kercher and Wayne Jarrett, who are listed on Kercher-Jarrett LLC’s business filings, did not respond to messages requesting comment.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="11.3" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the charges Bannon is facing is that of conspiring to commit money laundering. The <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/2018NMLRA_12-18.pdf" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">2018 National Money Laundering Risk Assessment</a>, prepared by the departments of Treasury, Justice and Homeland Security and U.S. regulatory agencies, noted the risks presented by a lax approach to shell corporations.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="11.4" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“The ease with which companies can be incorporated under state law, and how little information is generally required about the company’s owners or activities, raises concerns about a lack of transparency,” the report said.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="11.5" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Kolfage worked with Fisher Industries, a North Dakota-based construction firm, to help build the two border fences. We Build the Wall funded the construction of one stretch of border fence in New Mexico, near El Paso, Texas, and contributed 5% of funds for Fisher to build a $42 million fence along the banks of the Rio Grande south of Mission, Texas.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="11.6" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/he-built-a-privately-funded-border-wall-its-already-at-risk-of-falling-down-if-not-fixed" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">A ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigation</a> found that the Rio Grande Valley project suffered from major erosion just months after it was finished. Engineers warned that could result in segments of the fence toppling into the river if not fixed. Fisher Industries’ CEO has dismissed the concerns and said that he will fix any problems.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="11.7" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline;">Despite criticism of the wall-building project from the president, his administration has awarded Tommy Fisher, CEO of Fisher Industries, about $2 billion worth of federal contracts to build segments of the border wall for the government — at least two of them while a federal audit over concerns of “inappropriate influence” by the president is pending.<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="11.8" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Fisher’s attorney told ProPublica and the Tribune that his client has not received any other money beyond the construction funding provided and has no other business with We Build the Wall.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.625; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><div class="bottom-notes" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5em 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="note contributor-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.propublica.org/people/perla-trevizo" style="font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Perla Trevizo</a> and <a href="https://www.propublica.org/people/kirsten-berg" style="font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Kirsten Berg</a> contributed reporting.</div></div>=<a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/donald-trump-campaign-aide-was-paid-20000-a-month-by-steve-bannon-nonprofit-linked-to-alleged-fraud/">https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/donald-trump-campaign-aide-was-paid-20000-a-month-by-steve-bannon-nonprofit-linked-to-alleged-fraud/</a>salonsenior Trump campaign official Jason Miller appears to have been paid about $20,000 a month for work done for a nonprofit co-founded by indicted former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, according to public court filings obtained by Salon.The nonprofit — now <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/08/25/federal-prosecutors-have-steve-bannons-murky-nonprofit-in-their-sights_partner/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">reportedly</a> under investigation in connection with the <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/08/20/former-trump-strategist-steve-bannon-arrested-on-charges-of-defrauding-border-wall-donors/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">federal charges against Bannon</a> — started paying Miller the same month that Bannon’s associates learned they were under federal investigation, court documents and public reports show.The Trump campaign has not disclosed any payments to Miller since <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/05/trump-campaign-hires-jason-miller-303582" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">news</a> of his hiring broke in June — nor has the campaign disclosed any salary payments to campaign manager Bill Stepien, according to mandatory federal <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&committee_id=C00003418&committee_id=C00580100&committee_id=C00618371&committee_id=C00618389&recipient_name=jason+miller&recipient_name=national+public+affairs&recipient_name=stepien&two_year_transaction_period=2020" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">filings</a>. Publicly available court documents obtained by Salon together with Federal Election Commission (FEC) records suggest that the campaign is paying Miller $35,000 a month, apparently <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/07/28/this-scheme-is-illegal-trump-campaign-masked-170-million-in-payments-watchdog-alleges/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">through non-public indirect transactions</a>.<div class="story_page_incontent_instagram_container story_page_incontent_ig" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/08/20/former-trump-strategist-steve-bannon-arrested-on-charges-of-defrauding-border-wall-donors/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">charged</a> Bannon, along with co-defendants Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea, with running a multimillion-dollar fraud and money laundering scheme, in which they secretly siphoned millions of dollars in payments from their We Build the Wall crowdfunding campaign through a shell company as well as an unnamed nonprofit. The group disguised the allegedly unlawful transactions with fake invoices to hide their own personal takes, according to the indictment.bannon denies the charges.<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.3em;">C.O.A.R.</h3>Though prosecutors do not explicitly name Bannon’s nonprofit in the <a href="https://justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1306611/download" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">indictment</a>, the document describes “Non-Profit-1” as predating the crowdfunding campaign and being dedicated to promoting “economic nationalism and American sovereignty.” This would appear to describe the Bannon-founded nonprofit called Citizens of the American Republic (COAR), which first <a href="https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/displayAll.do?dispatchMethod=displayAllInfo&Id=1472844&ein=823509136&country=US&deductibility=all&dispatchMethod=searchAll&isDescending=false&city=&ein1=&postDateFrom=&exemptTypeCode=al&submitName=Search&sortColumn=orgName&totalResults=1&names=citizens+of+the+american+republic&resultsPerPage=25&indexOfFirstRow=0&postDateTo=&state=All+States" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">filed</a> a tax return in 2017. Its <a href="https://citizensoftheamericanrepublic.org/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">website</a> says the group “seeks to advance the ideals of Economic Nationalism and American Sovereignty.”Miller co-hosted a podcast with Bannon for COAR, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/23/us/politics/steve-bannon-trump-war-room-radio.html" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">reportedly</a> beginning in October 2019.In an Aug. 23 interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Miller <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz0HgSpEtHA" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">told</a> host Chuck Todd that although he had worked for COAR, he had not been interviewed by government investigators.“I have not, and from public reports it looks like this investigation was going long before the podcast even started, the podcast and the radio show that I co-hosted with Steve,” Miller said.While the exact timeline of the federal investigation is not a matter of public record, the Florida Agriculture Commissioner <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article245107440.html" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">reportedly</a> opened a probe into We Build the Wall in May 2019, but had not been contacted by SDNY investigators despite referring elements of the case to the FBI.However, the charging document against Bannon and the other three men accused says they were first alerted that they were under federal investigation by a financial institution around October 2019, after which group members began communicating via encrypted messaging apps.Miller had joined Bannon’s podcast <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/23/us/politics/steve-bannon-trump-war-room-radio.html" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">that same month</a>, and ordinal invoices that Miller references in public filings in Florida court suggest COAR began to pay him around that time.Those filings, obtained by Salon, show that Miller appears to have been paid around $20,000 a month for his work at COAR, from October 2019 until as recently as April 2020 — six months after Bannon’s group allegedly took steps to conceal communications after learning they were under investigation.It’s not clear what, if anything, Miller’s COAR income, effectually a $240,000 annual salary, covered in addition to podcasts and radio shows, nor is it clear exactly why the business relationship ended when it did, around April 2020. By comparison, COAR’s 2018 tax returns, which predate the investigation timeline but are the most recent available, <a href="https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/823509136_201812_990O_2020020617121195.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">show</a> that the highest-paid official at that time was making $55,000 a year, and the highest-paid contractor — a Wyoming entity called Fortress FM — received $191,000 for “security, logistics and training.”Federal prosecutors say in the Bannon indictment that <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/08/25/federal-prosecutors-have-steve-bannons-murky-nonprofit-in-their-sights_partner/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">they are seeking to seize assets belonging to “Non-Profit-1” — presumably COAR</a>.“These allegations are very serious and I hope that Steve has some good answers for the things he’s been accused of,” Miller told Todd. “It’s not something I worked on. I don’t know anything about the financial dealings of this organization or how it worked, and I hope Steve has an opportunity to tell his side of the story.”However, Delgado alleged in court that Teneo and Miller did not in fact discontinue their relationship, but that Teneo privately began paying SHW Partners immediately after Miller’s public departure.Miller was ordered by a Florida judge to resume paying Delgado $3,167 a month in child support beginning this July, per court filings, but when he failed to comply at the end of the month Delgado motioned that the court hold him in contempt. The current status of the case is unclear.However, Miller’s most recent filings in the Delgado case, obtained by Salon, suggest that the Trump campaign is currently paying him $35,000 a month. Miller claims current monthly income of an even $35,000, and had no other known clients when he took the position and has disclosed no new clients since — it would be unusual, but not unthinkable, for a senior campaign official to have other, secret clients while on the campaign.A Trump campaign spokesperson did not respond to Salon’s questions.(Miller also claims in those filings liabilities of $250,000 to the IRS and $65,000 to the Commonwealth of Virginia, but because he does not itemize debt amortization, both might be projections for taxes owed for the current fiscal year — Miller is self-employed. He also says he’s in possession of a baseball card collection worth $10,000.)FEC <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&committee_id=C00003418&committee_id=C00580100&committee_id=C00618371&committee_id=C00618389&recipient_name=jamestown+associates&two_year_transaction_period=2020" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">filings</a> show that the Trump campaign has made a number of payments to Jamestown this year of between approximately $7,500 and $45,500, through June. In July, the campaign’s expenditures to Jamestown increased significantly, including <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202008209266851174" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">a $78,394 payment</a> on July 13 and <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202008209266851175" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">a $133,800 payment</a> on July 28. Miller joined the campaign in June, and Stepien was promoted July 15. The campaign reports that the disbursements were for “video production services.”When asked if the missing receipts for Stepien and Miller seemed unusual, Brendan Fischer, director of the Federal Reform Program at the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), told Salon, “It doesn’t surprise me at all. The Trump campaign has disguised millions of dollars in payments to personnel and vendors by routing the money through LLCs created or managed by senior Trump campaign officials.”The CLC recently filed an FEC complaint alleging that the Trump campaign has unlawfully <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/07/28/this-scheme-is-illegal-trump-campaign-masked-170-million-in-payments-watchdog-alleges/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">hidden at least $170 million in payments through shell companies</a>, thereby keeping its spending a secret form the public, law enforcement and its own donors. Some of those hidden payments have allegedly gone towards salaries — such as <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/04/24/eric-trumps-wife-and-don-jrs-girlfriend-are-on-brad-parscales-payroll--at-15k-a-month/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">to Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lara Trump</a> — and were made through an entity controlled by Parscale.<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-secret-payments-sons-wife-girlfriend_n_5e9a1c46c5b635d25d6c747a" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Reporting</a> sourced this spring from White House advisers suggests that Parscale paid Guilfoyle and Lara Trump $180,000 a year, the rough equivalent of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-staffers-make-in-white-house-2019-8" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">a top White House salary</a>, but those sums have not been verified. Miller’s recent court filings suggest that his campaign salary might more than double that, and Stepien’s salary is unknown.A great many of Trump’s donors contribute <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/05/trump-dominates-small-dollar-fundraising/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">in small dollar amounts</a>.A Trump campaign spokesperson, Jamestown Associates and Teneo did not respond to Salon’s questions. COAR and A.J. Delgado did not immediately respond to request for comment.</div>
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