Border Patrol leadership had a ‘positive meet and greet’ with We Build The Wall reps before Bannon was arrested

The Nation reporter Ken Klippenstein walked through details about a meeting between We Build The Wall reps and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol prior to the arrest of founder Steve Bannon.

According to Klippenstein, the CPB leaders had a "positive meet and greet" with the group's staff where they handed over "detailed guidance" for how We Build The Wall could gift the funds from their private fundraising to the federal government.

"In a November 2019 meeting, CBP leadership—including Deputy Commissioner Robert Perez—privately advised representatives of the project on how to transfer the finished wall to CBP control using an obscure donation procedure, according to the memo. To assist the effort, CBP conducted an assessment of the group’s completed wall section in Sunland Park, N.M., and provided it with the results of that assessment," the report explained.

There were also a few problems for the wall including contractors who "inflated" the capabilities of their companies, there wasn't an environmental impact assessment done, and the wall may violate treaties with Mexico.

"On November 26—five days after the date on the document—We Build the Wall issued a press release announcing that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Chad Wolf had endorsed the project, purportedly calling it a 'game-changer,'" Klippenstein continued. "After the indictments, however, Wolf told CNN that he never endorsed the effort."

The checklist the group was given does not include the memo but it has a list of criteria for CBP to accept the donation.

"According to the memo, the firm that We Build the Wall hired to construct the wall, Fisher Industries, inflated its capabilities. As an example, it contrasts Fisher Industry’s claim that it would need three to four working days to place 2,200 feet of wall panels with the fact that it took more than eight working days while working 24 hours per day," said the report.

You can see the letter below and read the full report from The Nation: