(CNN) Donald Trump ally Kris Kobach said in an interview last year that he had spoken with the President three times about the private border wall project that is currently at the center of a federal fraud investigation, and that Trump was "enthusiastic" about the project and it carried his blessing. New York federal prosecutors on Thursday charged Trump's former adviser Steve Bannon and three others , with defrauding donors of hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of a fundraising campaign for the project. "I've spoken to the President about this project on three occasions now," Kobach said . In another video from the group in March of 2019, Kobach said he met with the president twice about the project. "He wants it known that he stands behind this effort.... the President clearly approves and he's said that to me directly," added Kobach.

Source: CNN August 21, 2020 19:18 UTC