Kobach, a candidate for governor, told The Star last week that he would “be working closely with DHS and the White House as the investigation moves forward.” He said that the agency would be looking for non-citizens on the voter rolls, an issue that Kobach has heavily promoted during his seven years as Kansas secretary of state.
However, a spokesman for DHS contradicted Kobach’s characterization of his role in that agency’s work.
“Mr. Kobach is not advising DHS in a formal or informal manner,” said Tyler Q. Houlton, a spokesman for DHS. “Of course, if an issue were to arise, we would work with him in his official capacity as the Kansas secretary of state as we do with any secretary of state and other state and local officials.”
Kobach maintained in a phone call Monday evening that he had been given assurances by the White House that he would remain involved in the process.
“I can tell you this, I was informed by the White House when the president made his final decision that they wanted me to be working closely with the president and this team. … And that team is both the White House and DHS,” Kobach said.
He blamed the confusion with DHS on the fact that he would no longer be serving in a formal role.
“What hasn’t been fleshed out is that capacity,” he said. “I will not take on a formal adviser role.”
Meanwhile:
New: The @ACLU just filed a contempt motion against Kris Kobach, alleging he is failing to comply with a 2016 court order blocking Kansas' proof of citizenship law (deleted previous tweet with wrong year because I still haven't gotten used to it being 2018)
— Sam Levine (@srl) January 9, 2018