1/ On this observance of Veterans Day, a cautionary tale for those who may receive a phone call from a group asking for money in the name of helping veterans.

While many vets orgs spend a lot of $$ helping vets, a few notably don't. This is a story about the latter.
2/ Last December, @sarahkleiner9 of @publici published this investigation of two sister nonprofit groups and their recently formed political action committee cousin. All were run by the same man, former Army Maj. Brian Arthur Hampton. publicintegrity.org/2017/12/13/213…
3/ As @sarahkleiner9 reported then, most of the millions upon millions of dollars these veterans groups were raising went to one of two places: the pockets of telemarketing firms or the pockets of the groups' leader, Brian Arthur Hampton. publicintegrity.org/2017/12/13/213…
4/ TV programs such as @jaketapper's @TheLeadCNN took notice. And soon after, so did government officials. publicintegrity.org/2017/11/25/214…
5/ First, nonprofit watchdog @CharityNav placed “concern advisories” on Brian Arthur Hampton's Circle of Friends for American Veterans and the Center for American Homeless Veterans publicintegrity.org/2018/01/04/214…
6/ Then, Virginia @AGMarkHerring's office opened an investigation into Brian Arthur Hampton's nonprofit operations, concerned it was misleading donors. publicintegrity.org/2018/02/15/215…
7/ @RepWalterJones, R-N.C., also asked congressional colleagues to look into the matter documentcloud.org/documents/4379…
8/ By April, New York state's attorney general office was investigating Hampton's veterans nonprofits publicintegrity.org/2018/04/18/216…
9/ And last month, a man who used to work for Brian Arthur Hampton filed a whistleblower complaint against Hampton with the Internal Revenue Service: publicintegrity.org/2018/10/24/223…
10/ Among the few politicians who did receive money from Brian Arthur Hampton's political action committee, Put Vets First! PAC, at least half — including @DeanHeller — decided to dispose of the money after @sarahkleiner9 contacted them about it publicintegrity.org/2018/04/23/217…
11/ Brian Arthur Hampton has told @publici that he's done nothing wrong. And his groups continue to raise large amounts of money, spending the vast majority of it on telemarketing firms and salaries. publicintegrity.org/2018/02/12/215…
12/ A breakdown of Brian Arthur Hampton's Put Vets First! PAC finances — not including his two nonprofit groups. publicintegrity.org/2018/10/24/223…
13/ As of today, Brian Arthur Hampton's organizations remain in operation and continue raising money, little of which will go to benefit veterans in any direct or demonstrable way.

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More from @davelevinthal

Sep 18, 2021
1/ On Friday, @ThisIsInsider identified two more members of Congress — @RepSusieLee (D-Nev.) & @RepKevinHern (R-Okla.) — who violated the federal STOCK Act.

businessinsider.com/gop-rep-kevin-…
businessinsider.com/susie-lee-neva…

How many other lawmakers have violated this law in 2021? A thread:
2/ @SenFeinstein (D-Calif.) has violated the STOCK Act. businessinsider.com/dianne-feinste…
3/ @SenTuberville (R-Ala.) has violated the STOCK Act. businessinsider.com/sen-tommy-tube…
Read 21 tweets
Jul 26, 2021
1/ Appears that the @ALTAonline political action committee is the latest PAC to get hit in a string of thefts.

Per new @FEC filing:
2/ Dozens of PACs and other political committees fell victim to theft during the 2019-2020 election cycle. businessinsider.com/biden-campaign…
3/ The @GOP's Republican National Committee endured this bizarre situation — and wasn't exactly forthcoming about it until months after the 2020 election. businessinsider.com/republican-nat…
Read 4 tweets
Jul 26, 2021
1/ @BusinessInsider has found yet another member of Congress who's violated a federal transparency law designed to defend against conflicts of interest. This time, it's @RepBlakeMoore, R-Utah. businessinsider.com/rep-blake-moor…
2/ In January, @SenFeinstein, D-Calif., was months late disclosing tens of thousands of dollars in trades by her husband. businessinsider.com/dianne-feinste…
3/ In March, @BusinessInsider revealed that Rep. Tom @Malinowski, D-N.J., failed to disclose dozens of stock trades during 2020, including a flurry of them as the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the nation. businessinsider.com/tom-malinowski…
Read 8 tweets
Jul 20, 2021
1/ A year ago, people across the United States & Canada were performing all sorts of wacky trick shots in honor of @ChrisSnowCGY — and to raise serious cash ($439,906) for ALS research and new treatments.

Today's as good a day as any to give: nhl.com/flames/fans/sn…
2/ @ChrisSnowCGY was diagnosed with a rare form of ALS two years ago. We all expected to be attending Chris' funeral within a year. Two years on, Chris is more alive than most of us could ever hope to be. Here's him this month on @CBSSunday:
3/ As @globemartyk recently noted, "Chris continues to work every day. He has learned to throw with his left hand, so he can pitch batting practice to Cohen, who is now nine." theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/…
Read 5 tweets
Jul 7, 2021
1/ Since Donald Trump left the White House on Jan. 20, @BusinessInsider has been tracking the diaspora of his top lieutenants and aides. Today, we released a searchable database of where they've all landed. businessinsider.com/trump-white-ho…
2/ It's not easy out there for some Trump alumni. Many corporations won't employ alumni of Trump's White House, so they're building a 'dumb cash' MAGA ecosystem instead, report @cryanbarber and @tomlobianco businessinsider.com/trump-alumni-m…
3/ Other Trump alumni — Cabinet members, in particular — are living their best lives in the months since they left the MAGA fold, report @rbravender and @leonardkl businessinsider.com/trump-cabinet-…
Read 9 tweets
Dec 27, 2020
1/ A Trump fundraising triple bait-and-switch, unpacked.

This morning, Trump’s campaign sent this text message. It would appear, in a plain reading of it, that any money you donate would go toward ongoing efforts to overturn Election 2020 results.
2/ But click on the Trump fundraising text link, & you get nothing about the presidential election. Instead, you get a solicitation for the “GEORGIA ELECTION FUND,” referring, of course, to the two runoffs in Georgia that will determine the Senate’s balance of power in 2021-2022.
3/ OK, so you’re helping elect Republican senators in Georgia and preserving a Senate majority, not helping Trump fight. Tomato, tomahto.

One problem: Your donation isn’t going to the Georgia runoff.

It’s mostly going to a new Trump political committee called “Save America.”
Read 6 tweets

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