The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) was named as a “coalition partner” on the website of the January 6 protest that preceded the riots at the Capitol Building and the group’s nonprofit arm helped to organize the event by sending robocalls the day before. Yet dozens of major American corporations, including some who paused their PACs after the events, have donated to the group in the months since.
In a mid-year filing submitted to the Internal Revenue Service on August 2, RAGA disclosed receiving donations in the first half of the year from companies including AT&T ($125,000), Pfizer ($51,225), Valero ($50,000), Rent-a-Center ($50,000), and Postmates ($40,000).
RAGA’s nonprofit policy affiliate the Rule of Law Defense Fund was listed on the protest website as “participating in the March to Save America,” according to the investigative news site Documented.
“The march to save America is tomorrow in Washington D.C. at the Ellipse in President’s Park between E St. and Constitution Avenue on the south side of the White House, with doors opening at 7:00 a.m.,” Rule of Law Defense Fund’s robocall stated. “At 1:00 p.m., we will march to the Capitol building and call on congress to stop the steal. We are hoping patriots like you will join us to continue to fight to protect the integrity of our elections.”
Valero told CNN on January 13 that it would pause all political contributions “in the wake of the tragic events that unfolded in Washington, D.C.,” adding that it “has no plans to resume them over the next few months.” The company made its donation to RAGA in June.
AT&T told the outlet Popular Information in January that it would cease its PAC from donating to members of Congress who voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Healthcare company Abbott Laboratories initially said it was pausing all PAC contributions to congressional candidates indefinitely. The drugmaker donated $25,000 to RAGA on Jan. 29. Abbott Labs made its first PAC contributions of the year in June, including $10,000 to election objector Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
RAGA is working to reelect Republican attorneys general in the next election cycle including some who were involved in disputing election results despite not having substantial evidence of fraud. The group is backing Texas AG Ken Paxton, who filed a lawsuit challenging the presidential primary results in four states and told Fox News he would be attending the Jan. 6 rally. RAGA is also supporting the re-election of Alabama AG Steve Marshall, who is the chair of the Rule of Law Defense Fund and joined Paxton’s lawsuit.
Rule of Law Defense Fund is not required to disclose its donors because it is a nonprofit, but it calls RAGA a “connected org” in its annual 990 filings and it says the attorneys generals’ group pays it hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for salary and employee benefits reimbursement.
Here are the companies that donated to RAGA following its role in the insurrection:
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