Tag: dark money

Obama Library Funds Are Secretly Flowing To Dark Money Networks

Barack Obama’s long-promised presidential library is shaping up to be just as corrupt as his administration. You probably haven’t heard much about this in the media, but recent tax filings reveal that money donated to the Obama Foundation—supposedly earmarked for his sprawling “presidential center” in Chicago—is quietly being redirected to one of the left’s most notorious dark money groups: the Tides Foundation.

The numbers tell the story. In 2022 and 2023, the Obama Foundation handed over $2 million to Tides, a group best known for serving as a clearinghouse for radical left-wing causes and for shielding donor identities. It should come as no surprise that George Soros heavily backs Tides, and Tides is directly tied to groups organizing anti-Israel protests. That includes demonstrations against the Jewish state in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas atrocities. In other words, donations made in the name of funding a presidential library are now helping bankroll organizations promoting antisemitic activism under the guise of social justice.

That’s pretty on-brand for Barack Obama.

“The Tides Center played an administrative role in the program by processing grants while Cities United [a nonprofit] managed the application process,” the spokeswoman said in an email. Grants ranged from $15,000 to $30,000 each over the two summers.

Tides has also handled donations for Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, which sued the group in California Superior Court last year. It alleged “egregious mismanagement” of more than $33 million in its funds, according to court documents. That lawsuit is ongoing.

In addition to sending donations to Tides, the Obama Foundation has sent more than $3 million in 2022 and 2023 in grants to Gofundme.org for undisclosed “grassroots leaders to empower girls through education,” according to the group’s filings.

Meanwhile, the foundation admitted it has so far spent more than $615 million building the Obama Presidential Center, which is scheduled to open in spring 2026, according to its website.

The group, which received just $129,320 in donations in 2022, spent more than $27 million on salaries.

While community members struggle, insiders at the Obama Foundation are doing just fine. The foundation’s CEO, Emeka Jarrett, earned over $750,000 last year. The executive vice president, Rob Cohen, pocketed nearly $650,000, and also maintains ties to the Pritzker Realty Group. His connection to Penny Pritzker—sister to Governor J.B. Pritzker—only highlights the tangled web of Democratic powerbrokers who are thriving while the project supposedly dedicated to “the people” spirals out of control.

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Soros-Funded Dark Money Group Secretly Paying Democrat Influencers To Shape Gen Z Politics

When Taylor Lorenz breaks a story on Democrat dark money, you know something strange is happening. Lorenz, who has made a career as the poster child for progressive social media culture, finally turned her reporting lens onto her own side. And what she uncovered in Wired is pretty dark: a secret program bankrolled by one of the largest Democrat dark money machines in America, designed to quietly pay off dozens of high-profile influencers to steer young voters toward the left.

The story centers around the Sixteen Thirty Fund, one of the crown jewels of Arabella Advisors’ dark money empire. According to public filings, this fund has been showered with staggering sums from progressive megadonors:

  • $257.1 million from the New Venture Fund
  • $64 million from the Open Societies Action Fund 
  • $20.2 million from the Hopewell Fund
  • $13 million from the North Fund
  • $5.6 million from Tides Advocacy

A spreadsheet posted by DataRepublican on X bluntly spelled it out: “That ‘dark money’ group, Sixteen Thirty Fund, is Arabella Advisors and is pure Open Society passthrough.”

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Inside Dem Dark Money Behemoth Arabella Advisors’ Failed Attempt To Create an Astroturf Influencer Army

The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, an offshoot of the left-wing dark money behemoth Arabella Advisors, tried to enforce that dictum when recruiting an army of handsomely paid left-wing influencers to spout Democratic talking points through an effort called “Chorus.”

Contracts reviewed by Wired stipulated that they weren’t supposed to reveal their affiliation with the Sixteen Thirty Fund or tell anybody they were being paid to mouth Democratic Party shibboleths. Presumably that includes complaining to reporters about the stringent terms of the contract and the astroturf nature of the project to “build new infrastructure to fund independent progressive voices online at scale.” Oops.

According to Wired, some of the online Left’s biggest names—including Olivia Julianna, who spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention; the “nonbinary content creator” Adesso Laurenzo, who boasts nearly one million TikTok followers; and Aaron Parnas, a social media journalist described by Rolling Stone as “a sort of 20-something Walter Cronkite”—expressed interest. Then they read Chorus’s proposed contract. It included the following terms, according to Wired:

  • Influencers cannot disclose their affiliation with Chorus or the Sixteen Thirty Fund.
  • Influencers cannot disclose “the identity of any Funder” or reveal they’re being paid.
  • Influencers “must funnel all bookings with lawmakers and political leaders through Chorus,” even those organized independently.
  • Influencers cannot use their monthly stipend “to make content that supports or opposes any political candidate or campaign without express authorization from Chorus in advance and in writing.”
  • Influencers must attend “regular advocacy trainings,” “daily messaging check-ins,” and biweekly “newsroom” events with lawmakers and other figures.
  • Influencers must remove content created at said events if Chorus requests them to do so.

Chorus gave the influencers two days to sign the contract and barred prospective affiliates from enlisting their lawyers to request changes.

On a Zoom call with the influencers, a partner at Democratic fixer Marc Elias’s Elias Law Group, Graham Wilson, boasted that “housing” Chorus through a nonprofit gave them “some real great advantages.”

“It gives us the ability to raise money from donors,” he said, according to Wired. “It also, with this structure, it avoids a lot of the public disclosure or public disclaimers—you know, ‘Paid for by blah blah blah blah’—that you see on political ads. We don’t need to deal with any of that. Your names aren’t showing up on, like, reports filed with the FEC.” (Elias Law Group made national headlines when it threatened to stop work for longtime client Media Matters if it didn’t fork over $2.25 million in unpaid bills.)

Many of the influencers approached to join Chorus expressed concerns over the setup in a group chat. “Nonbinary content creator” Laurenzo floated sending a “joint email” requesting changes, while a “reproductive justice influencer named Pari” said there were “at least 4 other things that should change.”

Ultimately, most of them fell in line. “I don’t feel strongly about pushing tbh,” wrote Parnas, the young Cronkite. “They aren’t going to modify it anymore. Seems like a take it or leave it.”

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Democrat Policies Are so Unpopular That a Dark Money Group is Paying Progressive Influencers $8K a Month to Push Them

A dark money group on the left is paying progressive influencers up to $8,000 a month to push Democrat policy ideas. Must be nice.

This is so typical. For all of the Democrats’ talk of getting ‘big money’ out of politics, they are the worst culprits of using big money to advance their agenda when it suits them.

The New York Post reports:

‘Dark money’ group paying pro-Dem influencers up to $8K a month: report

A secretive dark money group tied to the Democratic Party is paying online influencers up to $8,000 a month to disseminate left-leaning talking points, according to a report.

The “Chorus Creator Incubator Program” is said to be funded by the “Sixteen Thirty Fund,” a nonprofit sometimes portrayed as the left’s answer to the Koch network and which has funneled money to dozens of Democratic-friendly influencers, according to WIRED magazine.

The names attached to the program span some of the most recognizable liberal voices online.

They include Olivia Julianna, the Gen Z activist who spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention; Loren Piretra, a former Playboy executive turned Occupy Democrats YouTuber; and Barrett Adair, the content creator who runs a viral American Girl Doll–themed meme account.

The program also includes Suzanne Lambert, who styles herself a “Regina George liberal”; Arielle Fodor, a teacher with 1.4 million TikTok followers; Sander Jennings, the TLC reality star and older brother of trans influencer Jazz Jennings; and David Pakman, host of a YouTube show.

More from the story in Wired:

“There are some real great advantages to … housing this program in a nonprofit,” Graham Wilson, a lawyer working with Chorus, said to creators on a Zoom call reviewed by WIRED. “It gives us the ability to raise money from donors. It also, with this structure, it avoids a lot of the public disclosure or public disclaimers—you know, ‘Paid for by blah blah blah blah’—that you see on political ads. We don’t need to deal with any of that. Your names aren’t showing up on, like, reports filed with the FEC.” (Wilson did not reply to a request for comment.)

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New GPS Data Reveals Exactly Who Showed Up At White House Protests

Dark-money-funded leftist NGOs were at it again this weekend, attempting to stage a color-revolution-style regime change in Washington, D.C., right outside the White House. But as with every operation this year, dating back to “Tesla Takedown,” the only people these far-left groups, funded by rogue billionaires and some with taxpayer funds, managed to summon were the usual unhinged white baby-boomer liberal, serial protesters at best, with nothing else better to do. 

Self-proclaimed investor and “CIA/NSA contractor/whistleblower” Tony Seruga wrote on X about who potentially attended the D.C. protest march on Saturday. Using device data collected from the area, Seruga found it was largely the same crowd, leftist NGO foot soldiers – or repeat protesters from previous marches… 

Here’s a breakdown of Seruga’s data: 

Device Analysis

  • 318 mobile devices present (law enforcement, media, and demonstrators).
  • 92% of devices had been at 5+ past D.C. protests.
  • 67 devices tied to federal government employees, with access to secured federal buildings (DoD, VA, DHS, DOJ, FBI, Treasury).
  • 9 devices accessed the White House Northwest Gate multiple times in the prior 30 days.

Demographics: Mostly local DMV residents; 86.7% from homes valued >$850,000, 34% from homes valued >$2.5 million.

Protest Details

  • Branded as “Free DC” and “Fight the Trump Takeover”.
  • Targeted Trump’s federalization of D.C. policing and National Guard deployments from GOP states.
  • Route: Dupont Circle → White House (~1.5 miles). Chants/signs: “Trump Must Go”, “Hands Off DC”.
  • Part of broader anti-Trump demonstrations nationwide.

Organizers & Funding

  • Led by Community Change and Community Change Action under the “Free DC” initiative.
  • Backed by $20M+ from progressive dark-money networks: Soros’ Open Society Foundations Arabella Advisors network Tides Foundation

Paid Participation

  • Reports of 400% surge in demand for paid protesters in D.C. after Trump’s announcements.
  • Crowds on Demand confirmed anti-Trump events drove most inquiries.
  • Soros allegedly spent $20M on crowd-rental services for demonstrations.

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Left-wing dark-money megadonors, including George Soros, contribute $20M to groups funding protests against Trump’s DC crime crackdown

Several lefty, dark money organizations, including George Soros’, contributed more than $20 million to groups funding protests against President Trump’s crime crackdown in Washington, DC. 

Free DC, a “fiscally sponsored special project” of progressive nonprofits Community Change and Community Change Action, brought 150 demonstrators near the White House Monday to protest Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops in the district and federalize the city’s police department. 

“Do not obey in advance” and “Take up space” are among Free DC’s “guiding principles,” and the group urges supporters to “go outside at 8:00 PM and bang pots and pans, sing, chant, or make noise for five minutes” every night “of this occupation.” 

Free DC has scheduled multiple events since Monday’s anti-Trump protest, including a “Cop Watch Training,” suggesting further protests are planned amid Trump’s effort to make DC the “safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world” – by ramping up law enforcement efforts and removing homeless encampments from public places. 

Community Change and Community Change Action, the groups bankrolling Free DC’s activism campaign, have been the beneficiaries of millions of dollars in donations from hedge-fund tycoon George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and Tides Foundation, and the dark-money Arabella Advisors network, according to an analysis shared with The Post.

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Communist Billionaire Accused Of Funding Anti-ICE Riots Mysteriously Vanishes

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) posted on X Wednesday, exposing how Communist billionaire Neville Roy Singham—who operates a dark-money NGO network allegedly tied to funding anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles and resides in China with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—has suddenly vanished. 

“Neville Singham— the billionaire communist with ties to the CCP, who funded the LA riots and used immigration & Mexicans as a Trojan horse for communism— is hiding from our letter requesting testimony,” Rep. Luna wrote on X.

She said, “This poses an issue for delivering subpoena,” adding, “Therefore, if he decides to hide in CHINA,  we will now be asking the State Dept. and Treasury to freeze his assets/visa.” 

“Singham is literally hiding,” she emphasized. 

In June, U.S. Congressional Republicans, led by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), launched a formal investigation into Singham’s dark money networks and the political affiliations… 

Singham is suspected of funding far-left color revolutions in the U.S. with alleged ties to the CCP. The Oversight Committee’s inquiry focuses on Singham’s possible role as a proxy in CCP propaganda operations and his potential legal exposure under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. 

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Far-Left Panic: Dark Money NGO Floods Baltimore Airwaves With Propaganda To Save Governor 

A local journalist at Fox Baltimore is starting to dive into the same rabbit hole we’ve explored for years—tracing the dark money networks funneling cash into left-wing nonprofits tied to the Democratic Party machine. Whether it’s funding anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles or quietly backing political campaigns, the funding network is vast, coordinated, and often concealed behind leftist law firms that create a web of pop-up nonprofit organizations.

Gary Collins of Fox Baltimore and the Baltimore Sun recently flagged a mysterious multi-week propaganda blitz—radio ads flooding the airwaves across the Baltimore metro area with praise for far-left Gov. Wes Moore’s supposedly ‘stellar’ economy. Collins noted that the campaign is now expanding to television.

The commercial, funded by America Works USA—a dark money-funded nonprofit affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association (DGA)—promotes Moore’s potentially misleading claims of economic growth, job creation, and a budget surplus. 

Even Democrats in the state dispute these claims. Ed Hale, a Democrat and former banker who founded the defunct 1st Mariner Bank, called the entire ad misleading, citing Maryland’s first credit downgrade in half a century and other economic setbacks.

Republican Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready labeled the ad a major economic distortion funded by a DGA-aligned group using dark money. 

“I think it’s fear that they’ve touched the third rail, they passed and signed the largest tax increase in the history of the state of Maryland,” Ready said, adding, “Whether you’re a middle-class family, whether you’re wealthy, or whether you’re poor, you’re paying more under Wes Moore.” 

According to public records, America Works is just one spoke in the Democratic Party’s massive network of affiliated NGOs waging an informational war on the American people. 

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Dark Money PAC Rallies 17K Doctors to Denounce RFK Jr. HHS Nomination

As the Senate showdown over RFK Jr.’s HHS nomination nears its climax, the medical industry and its front group appendages are pulling out all the stops to make sure they knock Kennedy out of contention and get him replaced with one of their dutiful lackeys, as has been standard operation procedure for decades now in Our Sacred Democracy™.

The Committee to Protect Health Care, a partisan dark money PAC with a particular interest in promoting abortion, has issued a stark warning to senators considering RFK Jr.’s nomination.

Via Committee to Protect Health Care (emphasis added):

As physicians who care deeply about the health and safety of our patients and communities, we are appalled by Donald Trump’s reckless decision to appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). The health and well-being of 336 million Americans depend on leadership at HHS that prioritizes science, evidence-based medicine, and strengthening the integrity of our public health system. RFK Jr. is not only unqualified to lead this essential agency–he is actively dangerous. We urge the Senate to protect and defend our patients’ access to quality health care by rejecting his appointment.

This appointment is an affront to the principles of public health, the tireless dedication of medical professionals, and the trust that millions of Americans place in the health care system*. RFK Jr. has a well-documented history of spreading dangerous disinformation on vaccines and public health interventions, leaving vulnerable communities unprotected and placing millions of lives at risk. His appointment is a direct threat to the safety of our patients and the public at large.

A strong public health infrastructure can only be achieved when we work collectively to protect one another. Vaccines are among the greatest medical breakthroughs in history, saving millions of lives and transforming communities worldwide…

This appointment is a slap in the face to every health care professional who has spent their lives working to protect patients from preventable illness and death. Americans deserve better. Our patients deserve a Secretary of HHS who upholds the principles of science and public health, focusing on addressing real public health crises facing Americans such as the high cost of prescription drugs, access to care, and the systemic barriers patients face – not someone whose legacy is built on lies and conspiracy theories. 

As physicians, we are outraged by this appointment and we call on the Senate to act immediately. Reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination and demand qualified leadership at HHS that prioritizes science, the protection of public health, and the well-being of all Americans. The health and security of our nation depend on it. Anything less is an abdication of responsibility to the American people.

*it would seem The Science™ has done a bang-up job all on its own the past few years destroying “the trust that millions of Americans place in the health care system.”

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‘Anti-Energy Lawfare’: Millions in Dark Money Fueling Local Climate Lawsuits Across the Country, Congressional Investigation Finds

California law firm Sher Edling received more than $3 million in unreported dark money to push high-profile climate litigation on behalf of dozens of Democratic-led cities and states, according to a Monday congressional report obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Sher Edling, the Senate Commerce Committee and House Oversight Committee report found, received $2.9 million last year from the Collective Action Fund for Accountability, a shadowy group managed by the New Venture Fund. Because the contributions were made in 2023, the New Venture Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based dark money organization, isn’t required to disclose them until it files its next annual 990 form with the IRS in mid-November. Sher Edling also received a previously unreported check worth $235,000 in 2022 from the Tides Foundation, a grantmaking organization that wired a staggering $667 million to dozens of progressive causes in 2022, its most recent tax filings show.

The newly uncovered funds shed light on how powerful progressive interests continue to work hand in hand with Democrats to punish oil and gas companies. Sher Edling was founded in 2016 to take up risky first-of-their-kind lawsuits against the oil and gas industry, accusing the industry of causing global warming and arguing it is financially responsible for extreme weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes.

Most of Sher Edling’s cases are working their way through state courts, even as the oil industry has pushed for them to be litigated in federal courts. If successful, the suits could force oil companies to pay billions of dollars in climate damages to local and state governments. Sher Edling would receive a large portion of that settlement money, according to its legal services contracts.

As 501(c)(3) nonprofits, the New Venture Fund and Tides Foundation aren’t legally required to disclose their donors. Together, the two groups received $1.3 billion in contributions and grants from anonymous donors in 2022 alone. As a result, it’s largely unclear who exactly employed the organizations to send grant money to Sher Edling.

Since it was founded in 2016, Sher Edling has agreed to represent dozens of states and cities in climate-related cases, including Delaware, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Baltimore, and Honolulu. In the cases, Democratic prosecutors have argued the oil and gas industry is responsible for global warming and that it has deceived consumers about the downstream impacts of their petroleum products for decades.

Critics have blasted the litigation, labeling it a backdoor effort to bankrupt oil and gas companies and peg the industry for local emissions. Still, activists say the lawsuits are a critical part of the broader effort to curb reliance on fossil fuels and boost green energy.

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