The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced Wednesday that it will fine three dark money groups a total of $233,000 for concealing the sources of funds spent on political ads in 2010.
Three groups — the American Future Fund, 60 Plus Association and Americans for Job Security — received money from the Center to Protect Patient Rights (CPPR), now American Encore. CPPR is linked to the Koch brothers — it was founded by Sean Noble, who was, at the time, central to the Kochs’ dark money efforts. As head of CPPR, he “handed out almost $137 million in 2012 alone — all of it so-called dark money from unnamed donors.” The American Future Fund spent millions during the Republican presidential primary this year to oppose Donald Trump and John Kasich. In 2013, CPPR admitted to failing to properly disclose money spent on a California ballot proposition that year.
The FEC found that CPPR’s money was intended to be spent on independent expenditures (like TV ads), and therefore should have been disclosed to them. 501(c)(4)s like these groups are allowed to spend money on political advertising as long as it isn’t their “primary activity,” which is widely interpreted to mean that they must spend less than 50 percent of their funds on political ads. (Though some 501(c)(4)s spend more anyway and, so far, get away with it.) But if a donor explicitly gives them money for the purpose of spending it on elections, they must disclose that to the FEC.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), who brought the complaint to the FEC, explained:
The groups claimed the money was for general expenses and not specific ads, so they were not required to disclose their donors. However, Sean Noble, who was the central figure in distributing Koch money in 2010 and 2012, told the National Review in 2014 that he was deeply involved with producing the ads and selecting their targets—meaning the groups were required to disclose the source of the funds. The FEC’s investigation found that Noble’s consulting firm even helped produce and place the ads for the groups.
While CREW described the fines as “massive,” the amount is tiny compared to the amount these groups doled out on elections. The American Future Fund spent a total of $7,448,096 in 2014, the most recent year for which records are available; its $140,000 fine represents just 1.8 percent of the group’s total spending in 2014. The 60 Plus Association spent $10,031,215 in 2013 (and $18,279,532 in 2012); its $50,000 fine represents less than half of 1 percent of its 2013 spending. Americans for Job Security, which spent more than $15 million in the 2012 cycle, is the only group whose records show that the fine could significantly hurt it: In 2013 the group spent $1,571,753, with only $930,784 in revenue.
CREW is right to note that the $233,000 total is large in the context of other FEC fines — “the FEC gave out $273,000 in conciliation agreement civil penalties for an average penalty of $15,000.” But that’s nothing compared to the kinds of funds these groups have. Fines this small can easily be seen as the cost of doing business for a well-funded group that wants to spend on elections — and obscure the source of such spending — until years after voters have had their say.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.