logo

Secret Super PAC Donors Sought in Money Laundering Lawsuit

image
Created: 19 January, 2018
Updated: 17 October, 2022
2 min read

The non-profit legal watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is taking the Federal Election Commission to court. Click here to read the actual motion but here is the full press release from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington with a summary:

Unnamed donors who funneled nearly two million dollars through a series of entities to a super PAC in an effort to keep their names off the contribution should not be allowed to remain anonymous, according to a motion to intervene filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in Doe v. FEC. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) serves as co-counsel in the case.

Following a CREW complaint, the FEC agreed to a $350,000 fine (a post-Citizens United record for a complaint from an outside group) with Government Integrity, LLC, the American Conservative Union (ACU) and the Now or Never PAC for one of the clearest cases of dark money laundering in memory. The LLC used ACU, known for its annual CPAC conference, to launder $1.71 million to the super PAC, for which ACU pocketed $90,000. However, it is unknown where the funds originated.

“This is one of the more blatant conduit contribution schemes we’ve seen,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said. “We need to know where it began and who has worked so hard—in violation of the law—to keep their contribution and their participation in this scheme secret.”

By a split decision, the FEC failed to adopt its General Counsel’s recommendation to go after the originators of the contribution, an unnamed trust and trustee. CREW sued the FEC over this decision two weeks ago. In an unusual move, a trust and its trustee involved in the scheme–either as passthroughs themselves or as the original donor–sued the FEC in an attempt to keep their names from becoming public. CREW is moving to intervene as defendants in an effort to shine a light on these bad actors.

“Federal law gives voters the right to know who spends millions of dollars to get candidates elected,” said Adav Noti, CLC’s senior director, trial litigation. “In this case, major political donors are trying to hide their identities by laundering money through shell companies and trusts. That has been illegal for decades, and this lawsuit will help uncover who is behind the political money-laundering conspiracy.”

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is a nonprofit that “uses aggressive legal action, in-depth research, and bold communications to reduce the influence of money in politics and help foster a government that is ethical and accountable.” See the Democracy Chronicles Money Politics Section for more.

© 2018 Democracy Chronicles. The article originally published on Democracy Chronicles' website, and was republished with permission from Democracy Chronicles.

Photo Credit: Africa Studio / shutterstock.com

IVP Existence Banner

Latest articles

Harry Kresky
Harry Kresky: An Independent Hero
The independent reform movement has lost a champion, but his work is sure to live on. Harry Kresky, ...
18 March, 2024
-
2 min read
Krist Novoselic
Smells Like Independent Spirit: Nirvana's Krist Novoselic and the Fight for Better Elections
Former presidential candidate and co-founder of the Forward Party Andrew Yang sat down with Nirvana co-founder Krist Novoselic, who went from changing the status quo in music to bringing that independent spirit to the political arena and the fight for better elections....
18 March, 2024
-
1 min read
vote
It's Time to Let All Voters Vote in South Dakota's Taxpayer-Funded Primaries
Unfortunately, the upcoming 2024 South Dakota primary election promises more of the same for our state....
15 March, 2024
-
5 min read
TikTok
TikTok Has No Place in the Two-Party Duopoly
The US House of Representatives voted 352-65 Wednesday in favor of a bill (HR 7521) that would ban TikTok, a social media app used by approximately 170 million Americans, if Chinese tech company ByteDance refuses to divest from it....
13 March, 2024
-
7 min read
make every vote count
Report: 6-in-10 New Voters Register Unaffiliated in States that Suppress Independent Voters
Mounting research continues to show the real truth behind independent voter suppression in several states across the US....
12 March, 2024
-
3 min read
voter at polls
17% More Votes Count Under Ranked Choice Voting, Study Finds
A new study analyzing all single-winner ranked choice voting (RCV) elections since 2004 reveals a significant increase in meaningful votes and representation in elections under RCV....
12 March, 2024
-
2 min read