A dark money organization linked to Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y., is coming under an IRS complaint from a watchdog group for hiding their political activity when they tried to suppress Republican turnout for elections in 2018.
Recently unveiled tax documents from the nonprofit called Majority Forward revealed the dark money group sent $2.7 million to another nonprofit, the Coalition for a Secure and Safe America (CSSA), back in 2018.
Majority Forward is the nonprofit arm of the Senate Majority PAC. The money it provided made up most of the $4 million brought in by CSSA that year.
CSSA changed that money into direct-mailing campaigns and advertisements during the 2018 cycle targeting GOP lawmakers, including Republican Senators Josh Hawley, Mo., and Mike Braun, Ind.
The advertisements were claimed the candidates had altered their position on certain important topics, and were published to state-based Facebook pages.
The ads caused liberal watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) to create an IRS complaint against the organization. Majority Forward also admitted it left off legally required disclosures from its marketing pieces during the 2018 cycle.
“CSSA seems to have falsely informed the IRS they were not political. Dark money groups always seem to get around the law to secretly influence who is elected,” Noah Bookbinder, the CREW president, said in a comment. “We urge the IRS to investigate the CSSA and take fast action for any possible violations.”
CSSA’s ad accused Hawley of siding “with D.C. liberals against gun owners.” Braun was called a “Tax-Hike-Mike.”
Majority Forward financed the ads while keeping its true reasons behind the ads secret using loopholes in finance laws that allowed some political activity from nonprofits.
The timing of the ads — weeks before the election — seems to point toward CSSA wanting to throw a blanket on GOP turnout or entice the GOP to vote third party. The ads also point toward Democrats seeing Republicans as vulnerable to losing their base.
Author: Steven Sinclaire
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