According to the Center for Media and Democracy, Koch-linked groups have donated nearly $5.4 million to Citizens for Self-Government between 2011, when the group was founded, until 2015, the last year tax records are available. IRS filings show Citizens for Self-Government funding increased from $1.8 million to $5.7 million over that period.
Research Cited
Koch Brothers’ Former Right-Hand Man’s New Gig: Helping Reactionaries Dismantle the Constitution
“Convention of States is a much more radical approach to a constitutional convention” than earlier efforts, Arn Pearson, General Counsel at the Center for Media and Democracy, told Fusion. “Their budget has increased dramatically. This is their effort to push the state agenda as far as they can while they hold peak power.”
Conservative Group Led By EPA Chief Pruitt Received Dark Money to Battle Environmental Regulations
The fracking letter interested Devon Energy. Allen Wright, the company’s vice president for government affairs, contacted a top Pruitt aide for a copy of the letter, according to emails published by the Center for Media and Democracy. “Good to see you this week,” Wright wrote. “Can you send me a copy of Scott’s letter regarding the EPA [inspector general’s] inquiry into state regulation of O&G?”
Gagging the UW: Critics Worry Campus Speech Bill Is Another Attack on Academic Freedom
The Bradley Foundation donated almost $3 million to the Ethics and Public Policy Center between 2001 and 2010, according the Madison-based Center for Media and Democracy. And the Goldwater Institute has received significant amounts of funding from sources with close ties to David and Charles Koch, leading funders in conservative politics and policy, the center reported.
Trump Campaign Paid Tucker Carlson’s ‘Daily Caller’ $150,000
Beyond the obvious links through senior White House advisors Steve Bannon (former Breitbart chairman), Jared Kushner (former New York Observer owner) and campaign advisor Roger Ailes (former Fox News CEO), a recent investigation by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reveals the Trump campaign gave about $150,000 to conservative outlet The Daily Caller.
Conservative For-Profit News Site Uses Nonprofit; Trump Uses Whole Setup
As reported by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), “Carlson never disclosed the Trump campaign cash to his viewers on Fox News, even as he analyzed the presidential race. Meanwhile, as a Fox News headliner, Carlson has attacked news outlets like the New York Times, claiming they are biased against Trump.”
JUST IN: Tucker Carlson Busted in Very Shady Business Deal with Donald Trump
However, after an investigation by the Center for Media and Democracy, it’s been discovered that a huge ethics concern may exist in the way The Daily Caller is structured.
Charity Doubles as a Profit Stream at the Daily Caller News Foundation
The mission of the Daily Caller News Foundation, according to IRS filings, is “to train up-and-coming reporters and editors, to carry out investigative reporting, and to perform deep policy reporting with a purpose of consumer awareness and education.”
To evaluate the fulfillment of those goals, the Center for Media and Democracy, which first alerted The Fix to the Daily Caller’s business construct, analyzed the foundation’s output for two separate weeks, one in January and one in March. The watchdog found that only 39 percent of the articles represented original reporting; the rest hardly qualified as “investigative reporting” or “deep policy reporting.”
Fox News Host Exposed as Running a Scam Charity That Received Funding from Trump
Now it has come to light that Carlson is more than just a terrible TV host. The Center for Media and Democracy conducted an exhaustive investigation into the stewardship of his website, The Daily Caller (TDC). Carlson launched the site six years ago and it quickly became a staple of wingnut propaganda. The Washington Post published CMD’s findings with this summary of the scam:
Tucker Carlson Running Actual Scam Charitable Foundation, Unlike Hill…OH, FFS!
You already know that Tucker Carlson is a garbage human and DailyCaller.com is a pile of garbage pixels that will burn your retinas. But today we found out that The Daily Caller is actually a giant tax scam pretending to be a rightwing bullshit factory. Thanks, Center for Media and Democracy! Let’s Scamsplore!!!!