Thread by @nickgrube

Follow the money, just for a bit, and it leads to the Science of Identity Foundation.

In 2019, Tulsi Gabbard's campaign sent more than $650,000 to people and companies affiliated with SIF, a fringe sect of Hare Krishna that some describe as a cult.
civilbeat.org/2020/02/tulsi-…

Gabbard grew up around SIF as both her parents were devout followers of its leader, Chris Butler, a charismatic surfer with political ambitions and staunch anti-gay views.

Gabbard herself held similar anti-LGBTQ positions early in her career, but says she's evolved on the issue.

Last year, I traveled to remote Stehekin, Washington to try to speak with one of her top paid vendors, a man with little in the way of experience whose company was getting paid large sums of donor cash. He, too, was tied to SIF. civilbeat.org/2019/09/why-is…

There are others with links to the religious group who have received thousands of dollars from Gabbard's campaign, including her husband and a company he used to work for — Blue River Productions — which in 2019 was paid nearly $160,000

One of the more curious expenses I found, however, involved a man from Arizona who told the @DMRegister he and his wife moved to Iowa to volunteer for Gabbard's campaign after hearing her speak at an event in Nevada.

First, here's the story...

desmoinesregister.com/story/news/ele…

@DMRegister Turns out that couple, too, was tied to the Science of Identity Foundation, and that the husband had been paid nearly $8,000 to cover his expenses.

@DMRegister So what does the FEC have to say about this? The rules state that candidates can pay their family (and presumptively their friends) so long they're providing a "bona fide" service to the campaign and that the compensation is of a "fair market value" fec.gov/resources/cms-…