Over & over in the #KBJ hearings, we’ve heard Republicans make accusations about “left-wing dark money.”

There's a big problem with those attacks:

When they had a chance to vote for financial disclosure/transparency for dark money groups, those Republican Senators opposed it.🧵
In 2010, @SenWhitehouse introduced the DISCLOSE Act to combat dark money in response to the Court’s Citizens United decision, which struck down bipartisan fair election rules.

Senate Republicans, with @LeaderMcConnell at the helm, filibustered it.
washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chamber…
In 2019, Dems introduced the For the People Act to require disclosure of sources of dark money spent to influence elections.

Charles Koch's “Stand Together” had a secret call with GOP aides to sink the popular bill.

Again, Senate Rs blocked the reform.
newyorker.com/news/news-desk…
Meanwhile,@capitalresearch, which decries “liberal” dark money, was asked to be the GOP witness at a 2021 Senate hearing on dark money and the courts.

When asked if he supported stronger disclosure laws, CRC's head Scott Walter said "no."
documentcloud.org/documents/2070…
As Dems sought more transparency, the right-wing State Policy Network launched "People United for Privacy" to oppose transparency — e.g. rules requiring disclosure of large donors to government oversight agencies to prevent misuse of non-profit status.
opensecrets.org/news/2019/12/d…
In 2019, People United for Privacy got 100% of its funding from Rule of Law Trust, whose sole listed trustee is Leonard Leo — the kingpin of a dark money network intent on remaking the courts.

ROLT also funds @judicialnetwork. But JCN is complaining about left-wing money. Image
Then, Koch’s political arm @AFPhq sued California to keep its biggest donors secret from government non-profit oversight (AFP v. Bonta).

A host of right-wing Koch and Leo-linked groups from @CatoInstitute to @IWF lined up to file amicus briefs to SCOTUS to protect dark money. Image
In 2021, all of the GOP appointees to the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Koch/AFP and overturned decades of crucial oversight laws. Image
So, to recap: dark money helped Republicans pack the Court with justices who have held open the floodgates to more dark money and have blocked much-needed oversight.

The GOP then blocks disclosure laws in Congress.

But somehow they blame #KBJ and Democrats. Image

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More from @itstruenorth

Mar 24
The dark money/court capture group @judicialnetwork just announced a $1.5M ad buy. The ad takes a jab at #KBJ, but mostly peddles a vanity project/film about Clarence Thomas.

The story behind this hagiography + ad campaign is what’s really revealing.

Let’s follow the $$$. 🧵 Image
First, the ad buyer:

JCN is part of Leonard Leo’s web that has raised nearly $600M in recent years to capture the Supreme Court + reshape the law. The ultimate goal: reverse a century of legal precedents disliked by Leo and his super-rich secret funders.
truenorthresearch.org/2022/03/leonar…
JCN’s ad directs viewers to a seemingly revamped site: clarencethomas.com, listing Clarence Thomas as its copyright holder. There you can see the “documentary” “Created Equal.” Here are some of its funders, which we’ll take up one by one. ImageImage
Read 18 tweets
Mar 23
Senator Blackburn's appearances in today & yesterday's SCOTUS hearings delve into a host of culture war issues out of the blue. It’s worth interrogating the origins of these attacks on #JudgeJackson 🧵nytimes.com/2022/03/21/us/…
Blackburn has close ties with a right-wing culture war group that calls itself the “Independent Women’s Forum,” which backed controversial Trump nominees to the Court and has touted its ability to appear neutral.
This week, True North released a report highlighting talking points IWLC, IWF’s legal center, sent to GOP Senators in advance of the hearing. truenorthresearch.org/2022/03/dark-m…
Read 11 tweets
Mar 22
Wondering where the misleading narrative about #JudgeJackson pushed by Sen. Hawley yesterday — re criminal sentences — comes from? Spoiler: it has dark money origins 🧵
It appears this line of attack originated via the American Accountability Foundation, an outfit with clear links to Conservative Partnership Institute that was launched in 2021 to oppose Biden’s nominees.
It was then promoted in a separate “report” by the Article III Project (A3P), another right-wing outfit that received almost all its known funding from the dark money Concord Fund in 2019.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 15, 2021
The @USChamber has launched a full court press against the #BuildBackBetter plan. But many of its corporate members say they support families & #ClimateAction. Their $ to the Chamber speaks louder than words. Tell them to back this historic agenda!
Hey @Amazon try delivering paid family leave & clean energy standards by demanding the @USChamber stop opposing the #BuildBackBetter plan.
.@AmericanExpress how about telling @USChamber you want cash back for attacking #BuildBackBetter’s protections for families and the planet! Which side are you on?
Read 10 tweets

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