Right-Wing U.S. Dark Money Group Receives $850-M

The right-wing dark money organization DonorsTrust was the beneficiary of two anonymous contributions of around $425 million each last year, a tax filing obtained by Politico showed, Jake Johnson and Common Dreams reported for Raw Story.

Photo Insert: Dark money has become a pervasive force in US politics in recent years, with big donors taking advantage of porous campaign finance laws and Supreme Court rulings that have opened the floodgates to untraceable political cash.

Politico reported that DonorsTrust, a longtime funder of right-wing causes that describes itself as a defender of "free-market ideals," disclosed just three financial gifts in 2021. "One contribution was listed for $427 million, and another for about $77 million," the outlet found.

"The third donation was worth roughly $426 million—but not in cash. DonorsTrust noted that on December 30, 2021, it received hundreds of millions in closely held common stock in a C-corporation. The Koch network largely funds DonorsTrust.

Dark money has become a pervasive force in US politics in recent years, with big donors taking advantage of porous campaign finance laws and Supreme Court rulings that have opened the floodgates to untraceable political cash.

In the decade that followed the Supreme Court's notorious 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, groups not required to reveal their donors dumped $1 billion into US elections.

No less than $1.6 billion had been dumped in the midterms to boost candidates across the country, with $1 billion used to bolster Republican Senate hopefuls.

In response to Politico's reporting, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a trenchant critic of dark money's influence on the US political system and judiciary, wrote on social media,

"This is how democracy gets corroded by secret special influence—in roughly half-billion-dollar slugs."

He added: "Who was it, and what did they buy?" Let me make a guess: the money was fossil fuel related, and will buy continued Republican obstruction of obviously necessary climate measures. That's the pattern."

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