“We Build The Wall” Founder Brian Kolfage, Bannon’s Co-Defendant, Pleads Not Guilty In Fraud Case

Brian Kolfage, known as the founder of “We Build The Wall”, the private group that went viral via a GoFundMe campaign to finance a “privately constructed” border wall, has pleaded not guilty in a fraud case that has also ensnared former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.

• STEVE BANNON CO-DEFENDANT, BRIAN KOLFAGE, PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO DEFRAUDING BORDER WALL DONORS – COURT HEARING
• BOND OF $500,000 FOR KOLFAGE, $250,000 FOR BADOLATO AND SHEA
• JUDGE IN ‘WE BUILD THE WALL’ CASE SETS MAY 24, 2021, TRIAL DATE
• STEVE BANNON ALREADY PLEADED NOT GUILTY IN THE CASE

Bannon pleaded not guilty more than a week ago, and has suggested that the charges against him, as well as Kolfage and two other co-defendants named Timothy Shea and Andrew Badolato, are part of a politically motivated harassment campaign. Shea and Badolato have also pleaded not guilty.  The criminal complaint alleged that Bannon may have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars – a pittance compared with his already considerable net worth – via his involvement in the fundraiser. Kolfage is charged with using money from the fundraiser to finance his ‘luxe lifestyle’.

Here’s a photo of Kolfage, a triple-amputee and Air Force Vet who lost both legs and his right hand in a 2004 rocket attack in Iraq. Kolfage, 38, appeared before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan. The woman in the photo is his wife, Ashley Kolfage. The New York Post recently claimed in a story that was clearly planted by prosecutors that the couple siphoned $350,000 from ‘WBTW’ to finance their “lavish” lifestyle – with a bunch of Trump supporting stooges footing the bill.

In a court filing last week, prosecutors asked the judge to warn Kolfage & Co. against making “extrajudicial statements” that could taint the jury pool – aka asking that they refrain from discussing the case in the press, or on social media. Of course, simply complying with the prosecutors wishes would be tantamount to voluntarily submitting to a gag order. In any case, these concerns may not have deterred prosecutors from making some ‘strategic leaks’ of their own.

Bannon has already discussed the case in the press. And as far as tainting the jury pool goes, we’re curious to hear the prosecutors’ logic about why this was a critical case for a bunch of prosecutors in New York.