Axios: “The hundreds of millions funneled to politically active nonprofits on both sides rival the war chests of national political parties themselves. But the groups operate independently, often run by people whose roles are opaque or unknown entirely and with sources of financing that will likely never be revealed.”
Democrats Used Dark Money Edge to Beat Trump
New York Times: “Spurred by opposition to then-President Trump, donors and operatives allied with the Democratic Party embraced dark money with fresh zeal, pulling even with and, by some measures, surpassing Republicans in 2020 spending, according to a New York Times analysis of tax filings and other data.”
“The analysis shows that 15 of the most politically active nonprofit organizations that generally align with the Democratic Party spent more than $1.5 billion in 2020 — compared to roughly $900 million spent by a comparable sample of 15 of the most politically active groups aligned with the G.O.P.”
Soros Pours $125 Million Into Super PAC
“Billionaire mega-donor George Soros is seeding a super PAC with $125 million, an enormous investment that will aid Democratic groups and candidates for the 2022 election cycle and beyond,” Politico reports.
Judge Says States Can Investigate WinRed’s Tactics
“A federal judge in Minnesota on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by WinRed… that sought to block state attorneys general from investigating fundraising tactics that have triggered complaints of fraud,” the New York Times reports.
Ken Paxton Hasn’t Disclosed His Donors
“Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) recently announced a hefty $2.8 million campaign haul, showing the competition he can still raise big bucks while under FBI scrutiny,” the Dallas Morning News reports.
“But where most of the money came from is a mystery. Paxton has yet to name all his campaign donors, despite a deadline last week that required disclosure.”
Florida Republicans Try to Further Shield Donors
Republicans in the Florida legislature have introduced a bill “that would allow some political groups to shield sources of funding from local and state government scrutiny,” the Miami Herald reports.
Another Billionaire Behind the Big Lie
According to previously unreported tax disclosures, shipping magnate Dick Uihlein’s non-profit foundation “poured millions of dollars in 2020 into a sprawling number of groups connected to efforts to challenge Joe Biden’s victory and reimagine election law, as well as other right-wing extremist organizations, including ones designated as hate groups,” the Daily Beast reports.
House Democratic Campaign Arm Outraises GOP
The Hill: “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Friday that it had raised $39.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 — the best off-year quarter in committee history — and $146 million total for the entire year. The DCCC also finished 2021 with $82.5 million in the bank.”
“The National Republican Congressional Committee, meanwhile, raised about $35 million in the final quarter of 2021 and $140 million for the whole year. The NRCC also finished 2021 with $78.2 million cash on hand.”
Ratcliffe Paid $11,000 To Firm for Personal Website
“The campaign of former Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) reported paying $11,000 for ‘website design’ to the technology firm that created a personal website for him, in a move that could violate campaign-finance rules,” Forbes reports.
“More than a year after stepping down from his role in Congress to serve as Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, Ratcliffe still had access to a pile of money originally raised to support his congressional bids. He dipped into that stash to pay a company named Telegraph Creative. But Forbes found no evidence that Telegraph Creative did work on behalf of Ratcliffe’s old campaign. Instead, it seems more likely that the money went toward the cost of creating a personal website for Ratcliffe.”
Most Corporations Kept Pledges Made After January 6
“After the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, dozens of major corporations publicly pledged to pause their financial contributions to 147 Republican lawmakers who had voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election,” CBS News reports.
“A year later, most — but not all — of those companies have kept their word, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission filings.”
Some Members Leave with Big War Chests
Roll Call: “More than 20 sitting lawmakers who have said they’re leaving after the 117th Congress — or in Nunes’ case, in the middle of it — will hit the exits with nearly $53 million in combined leftover political cash, including in their campaign accounts and separate leadership PACs.”
“Some departing members give refunds. Most often, they donate the money to political committees and charities, or they hang on to the funds to dole out after they’ve left office. Some may keep their political money around in case they make another run for office in the future.”
Gideon Donates Some of Her Leftover Campaign Cash
“Sara Gideon (D) has donated $3.5 million of leftover campaign funds from her unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid to help low-income parents earn degrees and professional certifications,” the Portland Press Herald reports.
“A spokesperson for Gideon said she was not available for an interview Wednesday. The former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives has kept a low-profile since the election loss in 2020 and had not spoken publicly about her plans for about $10 million in remaining campaign donations.”
GOP Dark Money Group Backs White Supremacists
“Efforts to overturn the election. Jan. 6 organizers. White supremacist groups. And more than a dozen private and public universities,” the Daily Beast reports.
“They all have one thing in common: They received anonymous funding funneled through a single conservative dark money behemoth.”
“That’s the news in the latest IRS filing from Donors Trust—a conservative, Koch-aligned nonprofit which does not need to reveal the names of its donors and has been called the ‘dark money ATM of the right.’”
Feds Have GOP Congressman on Tape
Lawyers for indicted Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) acknowledged that “the government made at least two recordings of the sitting congressman over the course of its investigation surrounding illicit campaign contributions from a Nigerian-Lebanese billionaire,” the Daily Beast reports.
“The prosecution said in a filing that the recordings in question—a 2018 conversation with a government informant, and a 2019 interview with an agent in Fortenberry’s Nebraska home—are only two among more than 50 audio and video recordings they have turned over to the defense team. And those dozens of recordings are supplemented by more than 11,600 pages of ‘written communications, reports, transcripts, articles, and other records,’ the federal attorneys said.”
Liberal ‘Dark Money’ Group Spent $400M In 2020
“A left-leaning, secret-money group doled out a whopping $410 million in 2020, aiding Democratic efforts to unseat then-President Donald Trump and win back control of the Senate,” Politico reports.
“The group, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, financed attack ads against Trump and vulnerable Republican senators and funded massive get-out-the-vote and issue advocacy campaigns amid the coronavirus pandemic, as detailed in a new tax filing… It exploded in size during the Trump administration, going from a few tens of millions of dollars per year to raising and spending hundreds of millions.”
GOP Senator Blames ‘Vanished’ Staffer for Errors
Daily Beast: “A Republican senator faces serious allegations that he illegally loaned his campaign millions of dollars from his company. But the senator in question—Republican Mike Braun of Indiana—says he can’t fully answer the government’s questions because one of his key staffers ‘vanished.’”
“The Daily Beast found him within minutes.”
Three Men Charged With Running ‘Scam PACs’
“The Justice Department on Wednesday accused three political operatives of running a scheme to mislead donors and enrich themselves, charging the men with defrauding people of $3.5 million in 2016 and 2017,” the New York Times reports.
“It was the latest indictment against operatives who raise money for what are known as scam PACs, which direct much of the proceeds back to the people who run them.”
Corporations Gave to Senators Who Blocked Voting Rights
NBC News: “Several corporations that publicly declared their support for legislation strengthening the Voting Rights Act have donated thousands of dollars this year to Republicans who recently blocked the bill in the Senate, a new analysis found.”
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