Trump is trying to distance himself from the private wall builders. His officials and family publicly supported it.

President Trump's claims of ignorance to the private border wall could not be further from the truth.
On Thursday, four organizers of a campaign to build a private border wall were arrested on fraud charges for allegedly rerouting crowdfunded dollars to their own pockets. Trump has since pulled out a familiar line and claimed he knew nothing about the project or the people working on it, even though that's incredibly and obviously false.
For starters, Stephen Bannon, who is accused of taking more than $1 million to fund his "lavish" lifestyle, was literally Trump's chief strategist for his first few months in the White House. Timothy Shea was also arrested Thursday, and a year ago, his wife tweeted that she had met with Trump to discuss the project, HuffPost reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. has been a very public supporter of the project, calling it "private enterprise at its finest." A $75 donation to We Build the Wall would once secure you a signed copy of Trump Jr.'s book that just came out this year, and the group boasted that its foreman met with Trump Jr. once. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization claimed Trump Jr. didn't know he was quoted on We Build the Wall's website, and that he only spoke on their behalf once.
But it's not just Trump's family that supported We Build the Wall. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf recently visited its build site and met with board members, HuffPost notes. The former head of Trump's voter fraud commission Kris Kobach served on We Build the Wall's board, and once said Trump approved of it.
These are just a small handful of the ways We Build the Wall has tied itself to Trump in an attempt to prove its legitimacy. Read more about the campaign's Trump connections at HuffPost.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Quiz of The Week: 14 – 20 June
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
Echo Valley: a 'twisty modern noir'
The Week Recommends This tense thriller about a mother and daughter is 'American cinema for grown ups'
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures Swimming with buffalo, a floating garden, and more
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county
-
Supreme Court lowers bar in discrimination cases
speed read The court ruled in favor of a white woman who claimed she lost two deserved promotions to gay employees
-
Trump-Musk relationship implodes in taunts, threats
speed read Musk said Trump's multitrillion bill would cause a recession and accused the president of involvement with Jeffrey Epstein