BORDER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WALL: “President Donald Trump appears to have set his sights on a North Dakota construction firm with a checkered legal record to build portions of his signature border wall. The family-owned company, Fisher Sand & Gravel, claims it can build the wall cheaper and faster than competitors. It was among a handful of construction firms chosen to build prototypes of the President’s border wall in 2017 and is currently constructing portions of barrier on private land along the border in New Mexico using private donations. It also, however, has a history of red flags including more than $1 million in fines for environmental and tax violations. A decade ago, a former co-owner of the company pleaded guilty to tax fraud, and was sentenced to prison. The company also admitted to defrauding the federal government by impeding the IRS. The former executive, who’s a brother of the current company owner, is no longer associated with it. More than two years into his presidency, Trump is still fighting to build and pay for his border wall, a key campaign issue.”
–Priscilla Alvarez, Clare Foran and Ryan Browne, “Company touted by Trump to build the wall has history of fines, violations,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, May 30, 2019 1:24 am