SCOOP: Swiss billionaire HANSJÖRG WYSS's 501c4 fund gave $135M to the Democratic dark money group 1630 Fund from 2016-2020.

Wyss's people say the $ wasn't used for electoral activities.

But he has become a top funder of pro-Dem political infrastructure. nytimes.com/2021/05/03/us/…
I deleted a tweet referring to the Wyss group that donated to 1630 Fund as a "foundation."

It is a 501c4 group, Berger Action Fund.

Such groups are permitted to spend $ on partisan political campaigns.

Wyss's people say his 501c4 does not.

But it gives to Dem groups that do.
HANSJÖRG WYSS's team did not respond to repeated questions about whether he is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

In a 2014 speech, he said that he carried only a Swiss passport & did not have a U.S. green card. blick.ch/politik/die-ga…

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More from @kenvogel

28 Apr
NEW: Federal investigators executed a search warrant on Wednesday at RUDY GIULIANI’s NYC apartment, seizing his electronic devices.

It’s a sign that the criminal investigation is ramping up into his dealings in Ukraine, including whether he violated FARA. nytimes.com/2021/04/28/nyr…
UPDATE: @FBI also executed a search warrant at the home of @VicToensing, a lawyer who worked with GIULIANI on the BIDEN dirt-digging campaign.

She had dealt with, & discussed representing, YURIY LUTSENKO, the Ukrainian prosecutor who provided info to Rudy nytimes.com/2021/04/28/nyr…
A spokesman for @VicToensing tells me she's been informed "she is a not a target of the investigation.”

*When I initially revealed TOENSING's involvement in the Ukrainian dirt-digging, GIULIANI described her as LUTSENKO's lawyer, but he later backtracked. nytimes.com/2019/05/09/us/…
Read 6 tweets
2 Mar
Government watchdogs should call out transparency & influence concerns regardless of partisan affiliation.

@POGOwatchdog has exemplified this, flagging links between BIDEN's inner circle & shadowy consultancies like WESTEXEC as emblematic of the DC swamp. pogo.org/topics/legaliz…
.@POGOwatchdog has asserted WestExec "circumvents" lobbying disclosure laws, "sells influence & connections” & called it “disappointing” that Biden tapped so many WestExec alumni “because I thought the message was clear … that the swamp is unacceptable & it’s time for a change.” ImageImageImageImage
So it’s puzzling to see @POGOwatchdog’s Senior Ethics Fellow @waltshaub accusing me of being a partisan for using the words “Dem Swamp” to describe WestExec’s merger with another opaque corporate consultancy (@Teneo) that grew out of its ties to Clinton.
Read 5 tweets
10 Feb
.@BernieSanders to @neeratanden: “Your attacks were not just made against Republicans. There were vicious attacks made against progressives, people who I have worked with — me personally… Can you reflect a little bit about some of your decisions…?”
For reference: in 2008, @NeeraTanden, then a top @HillaryClinton aide, punched @fshakir in the chest after he asked Clinton about her Iraq war vote.

Neera’s reaponse: “I didn’t slug him, I pushed him.”

Shakir became @BernieSanders’s 2020 campaign chief. nytimes.com/2019/04/15/us/…
During his 2020 campaign, @BernieSanders sent a letter to @neeratanden’s board accusing her of “maligning my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas.” nytimes.com/2019/04/14/us/…
Read 7 tweets
8 Feb
NEW: ALAN DERSHOWITZ helped craft & push proposals for GEORGE NADER to be released from a 10-year sentence (for child pornography/sex trafficking) & returned to the U.A.E. (on an Emirate jet) so he could play a role in backchannel Middle East peace talks. nytimes.com/2021/02/08/us/…
GEORGE NADER's allies believed @AlanDersh was pushing for clemency from TRUMP.

DERSHOWITZ says that was a small part of his work for Nader, who didn't get out.

But the episode shows how DERSHOWITZ was sought after by people seeking relief from TRUMP. nytimes.com/2021/02/08/us/…
ALAN DERSHOWITZ used his access to lobby TRUMP for clemency for clients, & played a role in at least 12 clemency grants, including JONATHAN BRAUN.

When @AlanDersh learned that Braun had a history of violence & threats, he donated the $ paid by the Brauns. nytimes.com/2021/01/22/us/…
Read 4 tweets
12 Jan
SHELDON ADELSON was portrayed as a master political manipulator.

But his giving was often feckless & driven by relationships.

When I asked why he was funding a @newtgingrich '12 super PAC, he said “I’m just a loyal guy," then compared NEWT's ill-fated campaign to a steak dinner Image
That interview (which was in my book) came after @maggieNYT & I wrote for @politico that ADELSON had committed to donating $20M to a super PAC supporting GINGRICH's 2012 campaign.

*Adelson denied he made any such commitment.

**He ended up donating $20M. politico.com/story/2011/12/…
The few times I talked to Adelson, I found him engaging & unpredictable.

GOP operatives were often frustrated by his unpredictability & tendency to wait until late in the cycle to give big $.

They expect his widow MIRIAM ADELSON to continue giving $$$, perhaps more predictably.
Read 5 tweets
10 Jan
NEW: Allies of @WikiLeaks founder JULIAN ASSANGE have ramped up a push for a last-minute pardon from TRUMP, filing a clemency petition with the WH & enlisting a lobbyist with connections to the administration, ROBERT STRYK. nytimes.com/2021/01/10/us/…
The Australia-based press freedom group @BPFreeSpeech retained ROBERT STRYK to seek a pardon for JULIAN ASSANGE.

Stryk says he is working for free "in solidarity with Julian Assange" & will continue seeking a pardon under BIDEN, if TRUMP doesn't grant it. nytimes.com/2021/01/10/us/…
NEW DOCUMENT: The pardon petition filed by JULIAN ASSANGE’s lawyer.

It seems tailored for TRUMP, highlighting revelations in the @DNC hack & noting Assange's prosecution stems from publishing material related to "wars initiated by a prior administration." int.nyt.com/data/documentt…
Read 4 tweets

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