Today, DOJ Special Counsel Rob Hur is is testifying in front of the House Judiciary Committee. This Republican-led committee is using this hearing to reprise Hur’s smears of President Biden. We did some digging into Hur. Here's what we found. 🧵
truenorthresearch.org/2024/02/robert… Last month, Hur announced that President Biden would not be charged for having some classified materials from his time as VP, while also asserting that Biden has “significantly limited” memory, claims which many condemned as inaccurate. /2 usatoday.com/story/news/pol…

NEW: True North Research has obtained the Club for Growth Foundation’s 2022 990, which shows a $1.2 million revenue jump and shows the 501(c)3) paid $222,280 to Leonard Leo’s consulting firm Creative Response Concepts for "fellowship services." documentcloud.org/documents/2417… Club for Growth Foundation received $250,000 from the Leo-tied 85 Fund (Judicial Education Project) in 2021. JEP/85 is the group known as the vehicle Leo used to secretly pay Ginni Thomas, and it has become a major conduit for the fortune Leo controls. documentcloud.org/documents/2343…

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) is targeting the Wisconsin Supreme Court through attack ads branded “WMC IMC,” which stands for “Issue Mobilization Council” but whose voice is it really throwing? truenorthresearch.org/2023/02/the-se… #wipolitics #SCOWIS

🧵 What is WMC IMC?

It’s the political/issue ad arm of WMC. It’s spending at least $250K so far to influence who gets a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court by attacking Judge Janet Protasiewicz, who’s been on the Milwaukee Circuit Court since 2014.

jsonline.com/story/news/pol…

Illinois Billionaire Dick Uihlein is targeting the Wisconsin Supreme Court through an operation that calls itself “Fair Courts America” (FCA)

FCA is the biggest spender in the race so far. What is FCA?

It’s a PAC tied to Illinois-based “Restoration of America” network. FCA is spending at least $1.79M backing Daniel Kelly, a Scott Walker appointee to the WI Supreme Court who lost his seat in 2020. FCA is primarily funded by Uihlein & Restoration PAC, which he funds

Yesterday Erin Hawley–counsel for both the hate group “Alliance Defending Freedom” & the “Independent” Women’s Forum’s legal arm–testified before Congress in support of extreme abortion restrictions.

IWF–which paid Hawley at least $617K–claims to take no stance on abortion. BUT, in addition to employing Hawley, the dark-money Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) has:

1. Helped install the right-wing justices who overturned Roe
2. Deployed its resources to promote anti-choice politicians
3. And hired other staffers/fellows who have attack abortion care.

We've been tracking Koch money for years.

This #EarthDay2022, don't let corporations tell you plastic straws are the problem. Koch's massive network has banked on climate chaos for decades.

Here is a greatest-hits timeline of Koch’s war on climate action.🧵 1970s📍

Shortly after Charles Koch took control of his father’s oil refining empire in 1967...

a Union oil rig off the coast of Santa Barbara spills 80,000+ gallons of oil into the channel, leading to the first Earth Day on 4/22/1970.

Weeks later, Nixon creates the EPA.

Last week on Transgender Day of Visibility, the Koch-funded “Independent” Women’s Forum (IWF) released a “Women’s Bill of Rights"...

...which outlines no actual rights women should have except for a "right" to exclude trans women.

This is very on brand for women who:🧵 1. Oppose equal pay & call the pay gap a myth.

IWF blames women for being underpaid as a result of their career and family choices, though the pay gap exists in 98% of positions.

They also filed a brief opposing the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team’s bid for equal pay.

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 $$$. 🧵 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…

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…

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.

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.

https://twitter.com/NickSurgey/status/1505890808213422080

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.