Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer can’t hide anymore. His own words have him in hot water.
As Chuck Schumer has egg on his face for these truly moronic statements he made two years ago.
Ahead of the crucial 2024 elections, a significant influx of untraceable funds is pouring into politics, as revealed by a report from OpenSecrets. The report indicates that Democrat-aligned groups have garnered the highest monetary support thus far. In 2023 alone, dark money groups contributed approximately $160 million to political committees, marking the largest sum for this stage in any election cycle since the landmark Citizens United v. FEC ruling, which granted committees unlimited spending capabilities on political communications.
Of this amount, Democrat-aligned groups received around $84.5 million, while Republican-aligned committees secured just over $74 million, according to OpenSecrets.
The report delineated Democratic groups as those directing funds towards attacking Republicans or endorsing Democrats, while Republican groups were identified as those targeting Democrats or endorsing Republicans.
Additionally, groups categorized as “other” accounted for roughly $2.4 million in political spending.
Since 2018, Democrats have consistently garnered more support from dark money groups in each election cycle, according to OpenSecrets. Notably, while federal law mandates super PACs to disclose their donors regularly, social welfare organizations, specifically 501(c)(4) nonprofits, are exempt from this requirement, as outlined by the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
This of course flies in the face of the comments that Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made two years ago lamenting the influx of “dark” money in the election process. He tried to claim that legislation should be passed to prevent dark money from taking over elections.
But surely he only likes it when Democrats benefit from it as they have been in recent months leading up to the 2024 election cycle.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United paved the way for endless dark money in our elections
The Senate is voting on the DISCLOSE Act because we must cure this cancer of dark money
Every Senator has a choice: Vote for transparency, or stand with the forces of dark money
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 22, 2022
These 501(c)(4)s can funnel funds to political committees, facilitating the influx of essentially untraceable money into politics. Moreover, social welfare organizations funded by foreign entities can also contribute to political committees under this framework.
Some 501(c)(4) nonprofits engage directly in political spending rather than solely donating to political committees. One such group is Defending Democracy Together (DDT), which spent approximately $2 million on political activities opposing former President Donald Trump and supporting Nikki Haley, although she later withdrew from the Republican presidential primary, as per Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.
Founded by Bill Kristol, a vocal Trump critic and former Republican, DDT receives backing from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a Democrat-aligned dark money organization.
Notably, Americans for Prosperity Action, backed by the Koch network, received $25 million in dark money contributions in 2023, emerging as the leading recipient of the cycle, according to OpenSecrets. The organization heavily invested in boosting Haley’s campaign, disbursing over $31.2 million to support her ultimately unsuccessful presidential bid.
Among Democrat-aligned committees, Senate Majority PAC received the highest dark money amount, exceeding $16.7 million, according to OpenSecrets. Established in 2011 to assist Democrats in winning Senate seats, Senate Majority PAC operates as a super PAC, as stated on its website.
In contrast, Senate Leadership Fund, its Republican counterpart, received only about $6.2 million in dark money, according to OpenSecrets.
Furthermore, issue-specific committees also garnered substantial dark money contributions. LCV Victory Fund, an environmentalist group, received nearly $13 million, while Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund, an anti-gun-rights organization, obtained over $8.5 million in dark money donations, according to OpenSecrets.
Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund is chiefly financed by billionaire and former Democrat New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, as reported by Influence Watch.
You may remember that Mike Bloomberg was a Democrat presidential candidate back in 2020 who was heavily criticized for being an outsider who wanted to buy his way into the election with billions of dollars behind him.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
