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</div><div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Conservative PAC releases document on Spanberger teaching at Saudi-funded school</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">    Patrick Wilson Aug 28, 2018 </div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A conservative super PAC provided news media with a document Tuesday showing that Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee in the 7th U.S. Congressional District, years ago taught at a Saudi-funded school in Northern Virginia that later had to defend itself after a former valedictorian was charged with joining al-Qaida.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Spanberger, a former CIA officer, successfully completed the agency’s background check after she had taught at the school in late 2002 and 2003.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Spanberger campaign said it believes the Congressional Leadership Fund PAC obtained an unredacted national security questionnaire illegally. A consultant for the PAC, which is linked to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the records were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“I am not aware of any legal way that CLF could have this document,” Spanberger, a former CIA officer challenging Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th, wrote in a letter to the PAC on Tuesday. She demanded that the PAC destroy the unredacted records and agree not to share them.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The PAC issued a news release attacking Spanberger for working at a school, the Islamic Saudi Academy, that later fended off controversy. The news release noted that in 2005, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., issued a release calling for a probe of the school.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div>“It should surprise no one that Ms. Spanberger would want to hide from voters that she worked at a school that produced some of the world’s most dangerous terrorists,” CLF spokeswoman Courtney Alexander said in the PAC’s news release Tuesday.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Spanberger said she was a substitute teacher at the prep school between the time that she earned a master’s in business administration and took her job as a federal postal inspector. She said she filled in for a teacher who was out on maternity leave, and noted that she also worked at a restaurant while waiting for a federal job.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“It is just disappointing that a political party is so desperate to win a seat that they will try to create controversy when there is none,” she said.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div>The Congressional Leadership Fund sent reporters a letter dated July 9 from America Rising Corporation, a Republican research firm, to the National Personnel Records Center making a FOIA request for Spanberger’s official civilian personnel file.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="">According to CLF, the National Personnel Records Center forwarded the request to the U.S. Postal Service, which responded by providing the personnel file on July 30.[IT WAS NOT PO FILE, AND IT WAS UNREDACTED?!</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Alexander, the PAC spokeswoman, and Brian Walsh, a consultant working with Congressional Leadership Fund, did not immediately provide further records when asked for any further documentation related to the FOIA request, but Walsh made note of a postal service tracking number.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The 7th District race is a key contest in a national effort by Democrats to try to flip the House to Democratic control.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Brat is seeking a third term and is facing an energetic challenge from the Spanberger team, which dispatched a well-funded Democratic primary rival in June. Spanberger’s campaign hopes a strong showing in the increasingly Democratic suburbs of Henrico and Chesterfield counties — fueled further by the unpopularity of President Donald Trump in Virginia — will help lead to a win in a district Republicans have held since 1971.</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ref</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div>A conservative super PAC provided news media with a document Tuesday showing that Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee in the 7th U.S. Congressional District, years ago taught at a Saudi-funded school in Northern Virginia that later had to defend itself after a former valedictorian was charged with joining al-Qaida.</div><div>
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</div><div>Dave Brat Abigail Spanberger Saudi Arabia Attack Islamic Saudi Academy Spanberger Politics Institutes Pac</div><div>
</div><div>PatrickWilson</div><div>Patrick Wilson</div><div>pwilson@timesdispatch.com; (804) 649-6061; Twitter: @patrickmwilson</div><div>
</div><div>Related to this story</div><div>U.S. Postal Service looking into how Spanberger's records were released</div><div>
</div><div>A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service said the agency is looking into how an unredacted security questionnaire filled out years ago by congr…</div><div>
</div><div>Postal Service says 'human error' to blame for inappropriate release of Spanberger records</div><div>
</div><div>The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday that accidental “human error” led to the inappropriate release of federal records on Abigail Spanberger,…</div><div>
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</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><div>=</div><div>an 3 22</div><div>Dark money groups have silently influenced election campaigns for many years but now some are complaining because it appears the tables have turned. The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/04/hypocrisy-watch-dark-money-groups-complain-about-dark-money/" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">highlighted remarks from political action committees (PACs) raising concerns about U.S. Supreme Court Justice nominee Ketanji Brown.</a>On February 4, the Judicial Crisis Network released an ad that included a voiceover that said:The U.S. Supreme Court’s “justices were to uphold the Constitution, to be above politics. Now, that legacy is being tarnished by secret money from liberals … a record amount of dark money, over a billion, put them [Democrats] in office, so they will put up an Arabella judge, a liberal activist, a Biden rubber stamp." [twt?]then, on February 25, American Rising Squared tweeted, “Dark money groups, including Demand Justice, have been pushing Ketanji Brown Jackson for a SCOTUS spot for over a year. Once again, Joe Biden delivered for dark money groups and their wealthy donors.”While it's not surprising that Republican conservatives are sounding off about the possibility of a Black woman joining the Supreme Court, Kessler highlighted the real problem with the groups' complaints: hypocrisy. According to Kessler, the same group complaining about Brown is actually funded by dark money themselves."What do the Judicial Crisis Network and American Rising Squared have in common?" Kessler asked, adding, "They are both 'dark money' groups complaining about the influence of dark money — when it comes from the other side of the political spectrum."Offering facts about both groups, Kessler explained the pipeline funding both organizations.He wrote:"The conservative Judicial Crisis Network works to fill judicial vacancies across the country, including in state supreme courts and appellate courts. It received <a href="https://maplightarchive.org/story/dark-money-group-received-massive-donation-in-fight-against-obamas-supreme-court-nominee/" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">$17.9 million in 2016</a> and <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/dark-money-group-funded-by-17million-mystery-donor-before-kavanaugh/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">$17.1 million in 2017</a> from an undisclosed donor (or maybe two). It then turned around and used that money (and other contributions) to fight against the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland in 2016 ($7 million) and for the nominations of Neil M. Gorsuch ($10 million), Brett M. Kavanaugh ($10 million) and Amy Coney Barrett ($10 million)."Kessler also noted the problem with American Rising Squared and its own hypocrisy. "American Rising Squared’s tweet at least just focuses on Demand Justice," Kessler wrote. "But still, it’s another example of a conservative dark money group complaining about dark money."He concluded with his take on the level of hypocrisy expressed between both organizations. "We can only marvel at the hypocrisy of these attacks. Perhaps the point is that only liberal dark money is a bad thing," Kessler wrote. "But if these groups are going to air such complaints, they need to disclose they engage in the same practice of collecting huge sums of money without revealing donors. They earn an upside-down Pinocchio — which is ordinarily for flip-flops — for their hypocrisy."</div><div>=</div>=<p style="margin: 0px 0px 25px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px; padding: 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat; font-family: utopia-std, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Power The Future Works With The Same Public Relations Firm That That Had To Drop A No-Bid Contract With The EPA After Its Ties To A Controversial Group That Harassed EPA Staff<p style="margin: 0px 0px 25px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px; padding: 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat; font-family: utopia-std, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Power The Future’s Website Uses A Web Domain Registered By Defitecn Public Affairs. “In other examples, environmental causes have been attacked by astroturf websites, linked to Definers Public Affairs by common Google analytics codes. The They Cap You Pay website attacked proposed cap and trade (climate change-related) legislation in Oregon.  Meanwhile, the Power the Future website – which again shares the same tracking code and was also registered using a Definers email address – claims that ‘We are the voice of energy workers pushing back on radical green groups and the ideologues who fund them.’” [Global Witness, <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/behind-trumps-border-wall-political-operatives-a-controversial-pr-firm-and-an-alleged-fake-news-site/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); outline: none; background-color: rgb(250, 248, 245); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat; touch-action: manipulation; transition: all 0.35s ease 0s; font-family: aktiv-grotesk, sans-serif;"><span class="te" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px -0.225em; padding: 0px 0.15em; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat; position: relative; display: inline-block; z-index: 9;">06/11/19</a>]<p style="margin: 0px 0px 25px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px; padding: 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat; font-family: utopia-std, serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Definers Public Affairs Had To Drop Its No-Bid EPA Contract After Its Ties To A Republican Group That Sought To Identify EPA Staff Critical Of Donald Trump. “A consulting firm has pulled out of a federal contract to provide media monitoring services to the Environmental Protection Agency after it was disclosed that a lawyer among its top executives had been investigating agency employees critical of the Trump administration. Joe Pounder, the president of Definers Public Affairs, said in a statement on Twitter that his company’s $120,000 contract with the E.P.A., which it was awarded this month, had become a ‘distraction.’ The contract came under scrutiny because of the company’s links to America Rising, a Virginia-based corporation and Republican political operation with several offshoots that have investigated E.P.A. officials. One lawyer on the company’s staff, Allan Blutstein, sent a series of Freedom of Information Act requests to the E.P.A. asking for email correspondence by employees who had been publicly critical of the Trump administration’s management of the agency.[FREEEEEEEDDDDOOOOOMMMMM!] […] But agency employees — particularly those who had been targeted by America Rising after they raised questions about the management of Mr. Trump’s E.P.A. — said they were fearful the new contract might translate into increased surveillance of agency staff.” [<i style="background-color: rgb(250, 248, 245); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat;">New York Times, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/climate/epa-definers-public-affairs-contract.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); outline: none; background-color: rgb(250, 248, 245); box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat; touch-action: manipulation; transition: all 0.35s ease 0s; font-family: aktiv-grotesk, sans-serif;"><span class="te" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px -0.225em; padding: 0px 0.15em; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat; position: relative; display: inline-block; z-index: 9;">12/19/17</a>]=no lnx many pix twt<a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/behind-trumps-border-wall-political-operatives-a-controversial-pr-firm-and-an-alleged-fake-news-site/">https://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/behind-trumps-border-wall-political-operatives-a-controversial-pr-firm-and-an-alleged-fake-news-site/</a>Global Witness exposes the link between a controversial right-leaning public affairs firm and President Trump’s reportedly favored company to build the southern border wall.SummaryPresident Trump is boosting a particular firm, Fisher Sand & Gravel, whose owner is a donor to the Republican party, to build the border wall, which seems to go against the spirit of US federal procurement rules;Fisher Sand & Gravel have a previously unreported link with Definers Public Affairs, a DC communications firm which employs controversial tactics such as setting up anonymous attack websites on behalf of their commercial and political clients;Definers Public Affairs shares offices and staff with America Rising Corp and the America Rising PAC, Republican attack vehicles;Definers Public Affairs are known for paid-for attacks on environmentalists and commercial opponents of their clients – which led to Facebook severing its contract with them;   Individuals in Definers Public Affairs have recently launched a new company, Crier Media Group, active in ‘media monitoring’ in both the US and the UK.United States President Donald Trump is accused of attempting to influence the procurement process for building the controversial border wall between Mexico and the US. According to the Washington Post, Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have repeatedly pushed the option of awarding the contract to Fisher Sand & Gravel, a family-owned construction firm from North Dakota that has a checkered past. WaPo_Fisher_headline_cropped.pngThe story of how Fisher Sand & Gravel Co, and its subsidiary, Fisher Industries, grabbed the President’s attention is partly a very modern one of publicity stunts and media frenzies, and partly an old tale of money and politics. Recent reporting has revealed Fisher Sand & Gravel’s past environmental violations and legal problems – although the company points out that these matters were resolved years ago.Global Witness exposes a previously unreported link between Fisher Sand & Gravel and Definers Public Affairs, a controversial communications firm linked to Republican political operatives. From alleged smear campaigns to attack ads, Definers has been accused of devious and questionable methods to support their clients and negatively influence public opinion.The best way to reach the PresidentTommy Fisher, the CEO of Fisher Industries, has repeatedly appeared on Fox News, trumpeting his plans for a wall that he claims is faster and cheaper to build than rival designs by other companies. When interviewed by the Washington Post for his thoughts on why Trump supports the Fisher bid, the Republican Senator for North Dakota, Kevin Cramer, said of Tommy Fisher “He’s been very aggressive on TV,” and then asked “You know who else watches Fox News?”It may come as no surprise that both Tommy Fisher and his wife donated money to Senator Cramer’s Senate election campaign. The Senator has also boosted Fisher Industries on social media.  CNN reported that:“According to an administration official familiar with the situation, Cramer sent information about Fisher to the President's son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner, who then passed it along to the Army Corps of Engineers for their consideration. The source tells CNN that Kushner was not familiar with the company prior to getting information about them from Cramer.”Senator Cramer denied in his interview with the Washington Post that the donation has influenced his actions, stating that his support had occurred before any donation and was because Tommy Fisher is “a constituent of mine”. Other publicity grabbing moves have included Fisher Sand & Gravel building part of the border wall on private land, crowdfunded by a GoFundMe campaign for We Build The Wall, a non-profit organization that features well-known conservative personalities like Steve Bannon and Erik Prince on its advisory board.  Kyle Ehmke Tweet]Tommy Fisher seems a capable self-publicist.  But it is possible that Fishers also worked with a controversial communications firm based in Washington, D.C., Definers Public Affairs to grab the President’s attention.The link between the two was spotted by Kyle Ehmke, a ‘threat intelligence researcher’ with ThreatConnect, a cybersecurity company.When an individual or company sets up or is involved with several different websites, they sometimes use a common Google analytics account to monitor web traffic of the various sites.  Each Google analytics account has a unique ID number which can be found in the coding of the website.In this case, the person who set up and monitors web traffic at Definers Public Affairs also appears to have set up the website analytics for Fishers Sand & Gravel. Google analytics codes are unique – there cannot be two separate Google accounts that use the same code – nor can codes be added to a website by an outsider with no access to the source code of the website.  Therefore, since both sites use the same analytics code, it’s evident that, at a minimum, both the website analytics for the Definers’ website and the Fishers Sand & Gravel website were set up by the same person.It is also possible that the relationship between the two companies went further than just website monitoring. As we will see below, the same tracking code was used for numerous other websites set up on behalf of Definers clients. These included an anonymous website attacking Qatar and another supporting the point of view of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). [Trump_Fisher_meeting.pngSOURCE: TWITTER, @SENKEVINCRAMER]Foreign Agent Registration Act disclosures reveal that Definers staff members provided strategic communications guidance to the UAE, including one-on-one interactions with American news media. It is likely that the Qatar-related websites were part of the same package. While it is probable that Definers played some role in the new Fisher website, it is also possible that Definers provided a wider set of services to Fisher Sand & Gravel also.Global Witness repeatedly approached both Fishers Sand & Gravel and its media representatives and Definers Public Affairs for comment on the extent of any relationship but did not receive a reply from either firm.Fisher Industries already had an existing website at www.fisherind.com, but a new, professional looking website – specifically focused on the border wall (www.fishersandandgravel.com) was registered on January 4, 2018, around the same time that a new Twitter account was set up. Events then moved quickly. A new Facebook account was set up on January 5, the same day that Tommy Fisher was interviewed on Fox and Friends, a Fox News program known to be watched by President Trump.By March 13, 2018 Tommy Fisher had met President Trump in person. The controversy surrounding Definers Public AffairsDefiners Public Affairs is best known for having its contract cancelled by Facebook in late 2018 after revelations in the New York Times about its aggressive tactics.The communications firm is closely related to America Rising Corp, a Republican opposition research and attack firm which provides services to political clients, which has also set up America Rising PAC. America Rising PAC happily quotes a description of itself as “The rabid pit bull of the Republican Party.” Operatives associated with the groups follow Democratic Presidential candidates, filming all their public appearances. They also conduct background research on opponents. For example, their specialist lawyer, Allan Blutstein, submitted freedom of information (FOIA) requests for the military and NASA discharge papers for Mark Kelly, a former astronaut and potential candidate in the 2020 Arizona Senate elections.Both Definers and America Rising are closely linked to NTK (Need to Know) Network, which claims to be a news website “without the liberal bias”.All three entities share staff and office space in Arlington, Virginia. Joe Pounder, Chief Executive of America Rising Corp, also describes himself as a co-founder of Definers Corp, and NTK Network lists him as their Editor-in-Chief; while Allan Blutstein has submitted FOIA requests for Definers, America Rising, America Rising Squared, and the NTK Network.Newly filed corporate documents in the United Kingdom show that Definers staff, including the CEO Joe Pounder, and the Definers’ Chief Financial Officer, have set up a new entity – Crier Media Group - in both the UK and the US. Similar to Definers, Crier Media provides media monitoring services. (Definers have also set up UK Policy Group in the UK - claiming it was “bringing campaign-style research to corporate clients”.)  According to LinkedIn records several Definers and UK Policy Group staff moved simultaneously to Crier Media Group.  So, what’s the problem?First, their working methods raise eyebrows, particularly in an era when Americans and others must wade through “fake news” infiltrating their social media feeds and news consumption on a daily basis. Starting with revelations of the Internet Research Agency, a Kremlin-affiliated troll farm and fake news network, sowing discord and undermining faith in American democratic institutions in the 2016 elections, Americans, big tech, and US officials are now constantly battling the influx of misinformation campaigns.[NTK_Network_Apple.png SOURCE: FACEBOOK, NEED TO KNOW NETWORK]NTK Network purports to be a conservative news website. However, one former employee interviewed by NBC News described NTK as an “in-house fake news shop”.  One pitch given to a potential client and leaked to the New York Times described NTK News as “a Digital Platform Echo Chamber.” NTK also has articles written by America Rising and Definers staff, according a former employee interviewed by the New York Times. Articles attacking the commercial rivals of Definers’ clients appear on the NTK website without any declarations of potential conflicts of interest. For example, NTK News published dozens of articles attacking Apple, without declaring that a closely related party, Definers, reportedly had a contract with chipmaker Qualcomm, with whom Apple was engaged in a legal battle.NTK also ran an extensive series of adverts on Facebook, without declaring whether commercial clients were behind them. This demonstrates a loophole in Facebook’s advert disclosure program, whereby intermediaries can potentially declare themselves, and not their end clients, as the funder of the advertisement.Common Google analytics tracking codes suggest that Definers are linked to a series of astro-turf websites for their clients, sometimes without declaring who had set them up or was funding them. In one example, common Google analytics codes suggest that Definers had set up www.qatarcrisisnews.com and www.partnershipforpeace.org. The funder was later identified by K. Louise Neufeld, when Joe Pounder and other Definers staff registered as Foreign Agents to represent the United Arab Emirates, focusing in particular on “issues relating to client's termination of relations with Qatar and accuracy and transparency of Qatar government-owned media.”In other examples, environmental causes have been attacked by astro-turf websites, linked to Definers Public Affairs by common Google analytics codes. The They Cap You Pay website attacked proposed cap and trade (climate change-related) legislation in Oregon.  Meanwhile, the Power the Future website – which again shares the same tracking code and was also registered using a Definers email address  – claims that “We are the voice of energy workers pushing back on radical green groups and the ideologues who fund them.” Power the Future is led by Daniel Turner, who hasn’t worked in the energy industry, but rather was a former Director of Strategic Communications at the Koch Institute.The second problem is that the shift from political mud-slinging to widely reported attacks on commercial targets and environmentalists raises questions about both propriety and the transparency of funding of those seeking to shape the public debate.[Draft_Tim_Cook.jpg SOURCE: DRAFTTIMCOOK.ORG]The aggressive political methods of the self-declared ‘rabid pit bulls’ of America Rising PAC are applied not only to declared candidates for public office. America Rising Squared, a not-for-profit entity, also apparently conducts media monitoring and attacks liberal and environmental causes. They followed Bill McKibben, a prominent environmentalist, for months, filming his every move. They aim to “hold the Environmentalist Left accountable by highlighting their hypocrisy and exposing their extreme rhetoric and agenda.” During the attacks on Apple, which featured frequently on NTK network in late 2017, a website appeared suggesting that Apple’s CEO Tim Cook should be drafted as a Presidential candidate for 2020.  The website gave no clue as to who was behind the initiative. This was covered, albeit somewhat skeptically, in the Free Beacon, a conservative leaning news outlet. Kyle Ehmke, of the ThreatConnect cybersecurity firm, spotted that the website shared the same Google analytics code as that for Definers Public Affairs. Reporters guess that the purpose is to make Tim Cook appear like a potential rival to President Trump and thus, presumably, lessen Apple’s political influence with the White House. If true, this can only be described as a tactic which is both inspired – but also devious. As mentioned previously, Definers reportedly had a contract with chipmaker Qualcomm, a competitor of Apple with whom they were also engaged in a legal battle.  There is no suggestion that Qualcomm knew of such methods being used on their behalf.Definers also gained an apparent no-bid contract with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide media monitoring – or ‘news analysis’ – service. This came during a period of intense controversy after Scott Pruitt, who still describes himself as “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda”, was appointed by President Trump as EPA Administrator. However, Allan Blutstein, the Definers Public Affair’s FOIA specialist, seems to have gone further than ‘news analysis’.  He began submitting FOIA requests about EPA employees suspected of being critical of Scott Pruitt and President Trump, requesting copies of emails which mentioned Pruitt or Trump. These FOIA requests were denounced by EPA staff as intimidation.  When interviewed by the New York Times, Mr Blutstein said that the purpose of the FOIA requests were simply to find out if any of the EPA employees had used agency email inappropriately, or had violated agency rules in some other way.When criticized in the past in relation to their work for Facebook, Definers have denied being partisan, and stated that they only do communications not lobbying.  They also clarified that the nature of work for commercial clients is usually media monitoring services and that their opposition research forms a small part of work. Definers also state that, in any case, opposition research for commercial clients is entirely legitimate, usually drawing from public records. They vehemently deny smearing commercial opponents of their clients, and specifically say that it is wrong to suggest that NTK Network is used to attack commercial opponents.OpacityAs both Definers and Fisher Sand & Gravel failed to respond to repeated requests to comment, it is impossible to determine the precise extent of their relationship. It could be that that they have an extensive relationship; including DC based communication and media booking services to get Tommy Fisher on conservative broadcast outlets like Fox and Friends.  Or it could be that they have a minimal relationship – perhaps even just having had a shared Google analytics tracking account set up for them by a third party.[NTK_wall_ad_cropped.png SOURCE: FACEBOOK: NEED TO KNOW NETWORK]This opacity, however, is a problem. Take this Facebook advert ran by NTK Network in April 2019. Its main message chimes perfectly with the Fisher Sand & Gravel messaging that its proposed wall design is quicker and cheaper than its rivals.  However, we don’t know whether it was run by NTK Network on behalf of a commercial client, or had nothing to do with Fisher and simply tapped into current conservative media priorities in order to drive traffic into its own website.  The distinction is important if we’re to untangle the role of money in shaping the public sphere. The activities of Definers and associated entities illustrate a wider challenge. The current blend of money, politics, ideology, the fragmentation of public discourse by social media, and the deliberate shaping of national debates through alleged fakes or shills is toxic to democracy. We do not pretend to know all of the answers, but a first step is greater transparency over who is paying who to publish what. Disclosure:Definers Public Affairs also faced criticism over an attempt to discredit campaigners asking for Facebook reforms by linking these campaigners to George Soros. A Definers consultant said that “Definers shared a narrow document about an anti-Facebook group's funding. It was entirely factual...” and clarified the nature of the work carried out for Facebook. Global Witness is an independent, non-partisan organization that works to expose corruption to protect human rights and the environment. No donor —large or small— has editorial control over our work or the choices we make regarding the subjects of our investigations or campaigns. George Soros does not fund Global Witness directly. Global Witness receives funding from the Open Society Foundation for our general funds. Author Nick Donovan Campaign Director=BRITTANY KAISER: Absolutely. So, the files on Ambassador John Bolton show the work that Cambridge Analytica was paid to undertake for the John Bolton super PAC. That was work that started in 2013. It was actually one of the biggest first projects that Cambridge Analytica undertook in the United States. And that was to find five different psychographic groupings of voters and target them with psychographic messaging meant to resonate with your psyche and engage you, depending on whether you’re open, conscientious, extroverted, agreeable or neurotic.And those videos were targeted over television and YouTube pre-roll in order to convince people, one, that national security was the most important political issue; two, that Ambassador John Bolton was the biggest authority on these topics; and, three, that whoever John Bolton was endorsing — for example, Thom Tillis — would be a better candidate — than Kay Hagan, for example, in that specific race. So, these ads were paid in order to manipulate people into being more interested in his hawkish foreign policies than in their own best interest.AMY GOODMAN: So, can you talk about the ad, that is not radio-friendly because it’s mainly music with script over it? But this is an ad for Thom Tillis, right?BRITTANY KAISER: Yes. And it was an ad targeted at a group of people identified as being highly neurotic, and, therefore, it is black and white. It’s eerie. You get very emotional music, that shows surrender flags on all of America’s most prominent landmarks.AMY GOODMAN: Let me play it, and I’ll read what it says on the screen. So we’ll listen to that music and play the ad, and you can then comment further.There’s white flags going up, white flag on the Brooklyn Bridge, over the White House — over Congress. And it says, “America’s never surrendered before. What happens if we start now? On November 4, vote Thom Tillis.”An ad paid for, 2014, by the John Bolton super PAC. The ad was titled “White Flags.” Tillis went on to win his Senate race.BRITTANY KAISER: Yes, he did, indeed. And they used these tactics in a very successful manner. In fact, the John Bolton super PAC paid for a third party to rate how successful Cambridge Analytica had been. And they saw, on this ad specifically, that there was over a 36% uplift in engagement on these ads versus the communications that they had already been running.And so, what scares me so much is that I know that these tactics are being used right now. We are being manipulated in order to support going to war with Iran. We are being manipulated in order to believe that this type of violence is acceptable and that we should support candidates that support this violence.AMY GOODMAN: There are some who have suggested that President Trump did this, possibly in part because he’s so deeply concerned about his impeachment trial, and this specifically could be targeted for John Bolton, the former national security adviser, who almost immediately tweeted, “We have been working on this for a long time,” talking about the assassination, and that Trump is afraid of what he might say, and so this would appease him.BRITTANY KAISER: Another important tranche of documents that I released are in the Iran folder, which actually shows that Cambridge Analytica and other right-wing organizations, like America Rising, that does all of the opposition research for the GOP, were polling to see how many people in the United States were interested in the Iran deal, to drop sanctions, or if they were against the Iran nuclear deal and more interested in war. So you can see the types of questions that were asked, and that they were using that to model and identify people who could be persuaded to go against Iran, and whether or not that would be favorable for electoral fodder, I should say. And right now that same polling is happening. So, if you are identified as being a persuadable, you are going to see more of this propaganda in order to convince you that war is in our best interest, when it obviously is not.AMY GOODMAN: Emma Briant, what makes this different from regular polling? Why do you see this as evil?EMMA BRIANT: It’s not polling I think is evil; it’s what it’s being used for. I’d like to put this in a little bit of a wider context, if I may, and talk a little bit about what I know about SCL and —AMY GOODMAN: You have 30 seconds, and then we will do Part 2.EMMA BRIANT: — Iran. Oh, OK, sure. So, basically, they were working also in the Gulf from 2013. And it’s really important to note that the Saudis and the UAE were also very keen to oppose the Iran deal, and Trump’s election was followed by a huge spike in arms sales to the Saudis. And I think that this being a military contractor is extremely important to remember in the light of these recent developments on Iran.<div></div><div>Every expert I know believes that the Cambridge Analytica breach was just the tip of the iceberg: my investigation found evidence that other huge ‘friend databases’ were similarly extracted from Facebook and weaponised for political use. Last year I co-founded the Freedom From Facebook campaign calling for Zuckerberg’s near-monopoly control of social messaging data to be broken up; we were immediately targeted with disinformation by Facebook’s own negative PR firm, Definers Public Affairs.Definers is run by notorious Republican ‘opposition researchers’ from the political action committee America Rising, which even hosted a joint Christmas party with Cambridge Analytica in 2015.</div><div></div>1119<a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/11/12/elizabeth-warren-pregnancy-fired-america-rising/">https://theintercept.com/2019/11/12/elizabeth-warren-pregnancy-fired-america-rising/</a>in oct documents surfaced that appeared to contradict a key story told by Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the campaign trail. In her telling, Warren’s “dream job” as a public school teacher ended in 1971 when the school principal noticed she was “visibly pregnant,” a form of employment discrimination that was legal and common during that era. On October 7, a conservative website presented archived documents that appeared to challenge that narrative, including the minutes of a meeting in which the school board had voted to extend Warren’s tenure and another in which the board notes that Warren herself resigned from the job.<div data-reactid="212" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The story spread like wildfire, moving from conservative publications to major newspapers. Even Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to President Donald Trump, <a href="https://twitter.com/KellyannePolls/status/1181314387048615936" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">weighed</a> in on the controversy to suggest that the Democratic candidate had lied about her life story. More records seeming to challenge Warren’s narrative emerged, including a <a href="http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people7/Warren/warren-con1.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">2007 interview</a> in Berkeley, California, in which Warren appeared to say that she left teaching on her own accord to raise her child and seek additional education credentials, as well as a contemporaneous newspaper story about Warren leaving the school “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elizabeth-warren-pregnancy-claim-democratic-presidential-candidate-stands-by-being-pushed-out-of-teaching-job/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">to raise a family</a>.”Warren has stood by her story that she was “shown the door” because of her pregnancy. “When I was 22 and finishing my first year of teaching, I had an experience millions of women will recognize. By June I was visibly pregnant — and the principal told me the job I’d already been promised for the next year would go to someone else,” Warren <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1181556990906118144" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">said</a> on Twitter last month.But how did these documents surface in the first place? According to the results of an open records request, an opposition research group known as America Rising had requested documents from the Riverdale Board of Education in New Jersey just weeks before the news appeared. It asked for “Warren’s employment records,” as well copies of other records requested from the school board from the previous two years.In response to the request, a school official provided America Rising with the school board minutes that became the basis for the story that erupted the following month, along with emails from a Wall Street Journal reporter, who had requested similar records in April.America Rising — which is <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">affiliated</a> with a political action committee, a public relations firm, and a for-profit research company, as well as several news websites — has been <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?data_type=processed&committee_id=C00542902&two_year_transaction_period=2014&two_year_transaction_period=2016&two_year_transaction_period=2018&two_year_transaction_period=2020" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">backed</a> over the years by Republican donors, including hedge-fund billionaires Paul Singer and Ken Griffin, private equity investor John Childs, and banker Andrew Beal.America Rising did not respond to a request for comment. The organization did not claim direct responsibility for the Warren story, but <a href="https://americarisingpac.org/meeting-minutes-contradict-elizabeth-warrens-claim-of-being-fired-over-pregnancy/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">touted the documents</a> as soon as they appeared online via an allied conservative website called the Washington Free Beacon. Free Beacon is also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/us/politics/trump-dossier-paul-singer.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">funded by Singer</a>.America Rising is known for attempting to dig up dirt on politicians, journalists, and activists on behalf of donors’ interests. The group went after journalist <a href="https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/01/america-rising-pac-sets-sights-for-koch-chronicler-jane-mayer-218081" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Jane Mayer</a>, shopping negative information about the New Yorker writer following the publication of her book “Dark Money.” In 2016, America Rising focused on environmentalist Bill McKibben, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/opinion/sunday/embarrassing-photos-of-me-thanks-to-my-right-wing-stalkers.html?r=0&module=inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">dispatching its team</a> to obtain thousands of documents from McKibben’s past and to follow the Vermont-based writer, filming him at public events, as well as while grocery shopping and sitting in a church pew. This year, Definers Public Affairs, an affiliate of America Rising that shares the same staff, decided to <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/04/definers-facebook-oppo-research-controversy-1480400" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">rebrand</a> following <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/15/definers-republican-firm-plan-defend-facebook-attack-rivals-soros" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">revelations</a> that the company had been retained by Facebook to orchestrate a campaign to smear its critics.</div><div id="third-party--article-mid" class="NewsletterEmbed-container" data-reactid="213" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px -20px 20px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; width: auto; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="Newsletter-shortcode Newsletter-shortcode-layout-full" data-reactid="214" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: fit-content; display: flex; margin-right: 0px;">
</div></div><div data-reactid="223" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The current America Rising research effort on Warren appears to be part of a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/15/gop-group-preps-opposition-research-blitz-against-mike-bloomberg.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">broader dive</a> into the Democratic field, which is being <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/18/trump-team-guns-for-2020-rivals-242781" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">coordinated</a> with America First Policies, the nonprofit arm of Trump’s Super PAC. The effort involves research on Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Michael Bloomberg, Joe Biden, Cory Booker, and other Democratic candidates.Election narratives are often crafted in part by research efforts financed by partisan interest groups. The board documents surfaced by America Rising don’t necessarily undermine Warren’s version of the events, but they did add to speculation that she embellished her history by opening up a line of questioning that doesn’t have a clear answer.Politifact, after reviewing evidence of the <a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2019/oct/09/did-elizabeth-warren-lose-teaching-job-because-she/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">controversy</a>, did not reach a conclusion one way or another regarding Warren’s claims and her critic’s efforts to unravel them. The principal of the elementary school at the center of the story, Edward Pruzinsky, is deceased.Still, Warren has argued against some of the claims. The minutes from the April 21, 1971, meeting show that the board unanimously approved a motion to extend Warren’s employment contract as a speech pathologist for the next school year. Another set of board minutes, from June 16, 1971, show Warren’s resignation “accepted with regret.” It is unlikely, as many have pointed out, that Warren showed visible signs of her pregnancy in April of that year. She <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/10/elizabeth-warren-says-she-was-fired-for-being-pregnant-in-1971.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">gave birth</a> to her daughter Amelia in September 1971. Further, if Warren was let go for showing signs of her pregnancy by the summer of that year, it also seems unlikely that the board would highlight that justification in its official set of minutes.Trudy Randall, a retired teacher who worked at Riverdale Elementary School for three decades, backed up Warren’s account in an <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elizabeth-warren-pregnancy-claim-democratic-presidential-candidate-stands-by-being-pushed-out-of-teaching-job/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">interview</a> with CBS News. “The rule was at five months, you had to leave when you were pregnant. Now, if you didn’t tell anybody you were pregnant, and they didn’t know, you could fudge it and try to stay on a little bit longer,” said Randall. “But they kind of wanted you out if you were pregnant.”That didn’t stop an array of outlets from declaring that Warren had told a lie. “Report disputes Elizabeth Warren’s claim she was let go from teaching job over pregnancy,” claimed the New York Post. The Daily Signal reported, “Records contradict Warren’s claim she was fired for being ‘visibly pregnant.'” On Fox News, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-elizabeth-warren-pregnancy-smear-shows-how-poisoned-the-media-world-is/2019/10/09/6d9db186-ea96-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;">story blared</a> with the chyron, “Warren Facing New Credibility Questions,” with a pundit roundtable that discussed how the documents highlighted a “character issue.”</div>=<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/right-wing-groups-gearing-up-onslaught-merrick-garland-supreme-court/">https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/right-wing-groups-gearing-up-onslaught-merrick-garland-supreme-court/</a>no lnx Wednesday, President Barack Obama picked Merrick Garland, a federal court of appeals judge with a stellar and moderate reputation, to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. His strategy was obvious: present obstructionist Republicans with a nominee with little or no baggage. But Senate Republicans immediately signaled that the Garland nomination would not change their calculations—that the fight to block any nominee was on. And prior to Obama’s announcement, conservative groups were already gearing up for this crusade, perhaps the last big battle of the right’s war on Obama.
The political players leading this effort are the usual suspects. The Republican National Committee had already announced plans to oppose Obama’s nominee—whoever it might be—and to run ads in competitive Senate races in Colorado, Ohio, Florida, New Hampshire and elsewhere, in addition to targeting Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The tea party group FreedomWorks is rallying grassroots voters to the cause. On the other side of political spectrum, liberal advocacy groups such as the Alliance for Justice and People for the American Way are girding for a massive fight.
This face-off could well be nastier and more expensive than past confrontations over the Supreme Court. It’s the first political fight of this kind since the controversial Citizens United decision allowed money to flow freely into the political system. The influx of money has also helped create a well-funded extra-party political infrastructure that is now turning its sights on the SCOTUS fight.
Thanks to Citizens United, campaign finance rules that once limited the use of corporate and union money for certain advertisements no longer exist. Meanwhile, dark-money groups—which can get involved in campaigns but don’t have to disclose their donors—are supposed to spend slightly more than half of their money on nonelection activities to keep their nonprofit status. As a result, they “may funnel a lot of the rest of their money into Supreme Court-related ads,” says Rick Hasen, an election law professor at the University of California-Irvine law school
Here’s a look at the groups launching the assault against Garland:
Judicial Crisis Network: Perhaps the biggest player in the Supreme Court fight is the Judicial Crisis Network, launched in 2005 and long a dark-money conduit for a number of rich conservative donors. Founded by Ann Corkery, a low-profile conservative fundraiser and lawyer, the group reportedly launched with startup money from California foreclosure king Robin Arkley II, a wealthy conservative who helped bankroll the effort to unseat former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle (D). Corkery’s husband Neil is JCN’s treasurer.
Other early JCN supporters included Jay Sekulow, a longtime culture warrior and chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (which was created by televangelist Pat Robertson), and Leonard Leo, the executive vice president of the Federalist Society, a leading conservative legal group. Originally called the Judicial Confirmation Network, the group was formed to help push through George W. Bush’s judicial nominees. After Obama was elected in 2008, the group shifted its focus to blocking his federal court nominees.In 2008, JCN ran ads attacking then-candidate Obama for associating with former Weatherman Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The group went all in to oppose the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor in 2009, setting up state-level opposition groups to pressure vulnerable Democratic senators. It also ran attack ads against Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan the following year.
Since Citizens United, JCN has become more heavily involved in elections, particularly judicial and attorney general elections at the state level. It has spent millions of dollars to swing state supreme courts to the right and to elect business-friendly attorney generals. The group is a beneficiary of significant amounts of dark money. The bulk of its budget in 2014 came from an outfit called Wellspring Committee, a secretive nonprofit group that isn’t required to disclose its donors.
According to Wellspring’s most recent tax filing, it gave JCN nearly $7 million that year. Wellspring was a creation of the Koch brothers, the billionaire industrialists who have pumped millions of dollars into conservative political campaigns over the past several years. According to Ken Vogel’s book Big Money, Wellspring was one of the Kochs’ first forays into using a nonprofit entity to funnel money secretly to other political organizations to obscure the source of the funding. The Koch brothers reportedly broke with Wellspring in 2008 and moved on to other projects, but Wellspring still apparently maintains ties with members of their donor network.
Within a week of Scalia’s passing, JCN announced the launch of a $1 million ad campaign calling on Senate Republicans to refuse Obama a hearing on any Supreme Court nominee. The ads praised senators in competitive 2016 races who had already pledged to block any Obama nominee. (Last week, the group ran ads attacking Judge Jane Kelly, a federal appeals court judge who was briefly on Obama’s Supreme Court short list, for once having represented a “child molester.”) After Obama announced Garland’s nomination, JCN disclosed that it would spend another $2 million on ads opposing his confirmation.
Carrie Severino, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who serves as JCN’s chief counsel and policy director, said last month, “We cannot allow President Obama turn the Supreme Court nomination process into another partisan game, where Obama’s goal is to dominate the court with extremist liberal ideologues.”
America Rising: A super-PAC, America Rising was founded in 2013 by Mitt Romney’s former campaign manager, Matt Rhoades. The PAC’s biggest donor this cycle is Republican hedge fund mogul Paul Singer. Close behind is Mike Fernandez, a big Jeb Bush donor. The outfit has made a name for itself by sending out trackers to follow Democratic congressional candidates during the 2014 election—looking for material for attack ads. The trackers scored a big hit when they captured Senate candidate Bruce Braley calling Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley “a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school,” a comment that hurt Braley’s campaign.
America Rising’s involvement in the Supreme Court fight is coming largely through a subsidiary, America Rising Squared, run by a former communications director for Sen. John McCain, that was created to do opposition research on Democratic candidates. Before the Garland pick was announced, JCN and the Republican Party each hired American Rising to dig up dirt on potential Supreme Court nominees. After Garland’s nomination, America Rising Squared executive director Brian Rogers released a statement warning of the judge’s liberal leanings. “Merrick Garland has been called the ideal judge to move the Supreme Court to the left and cement President Obama’s liberal legacy for decades into the future.” And he told the Washington Post, “We’ve done a good deal of research on Judge Garland so far and now we’re in the midst of a big surge to get after the record to make sure the American people have all the information they need to weigh this debate.”
One Nation: Republican strategist Karl Rove’s dark-money monster, Crossroads GPS, will be a key player in Senate elections, though under a less familiar name. That outside spending group, created in the wake of Citizens United, has lately been operating using an entity called One Nation. The new group is headed by Crossroads’ President Steven Law, a former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has made obstructing Obama’s Supreme Court nominee a priority. One Nation has already spent several million dollars trying to help endangered GOP senators such as Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).The group has said it will likely focus its Senate campaign efforts on the Supreme Court fight, honing in on the impact of a new potential liberal justice and the effect on core conservative issues. Ian Prior, a spokesman for the group, told Politico last month, “The consequences of our next Supreme Court justice and what that will do to shape the court for 20 years is certainly an issue that One Nation will be front and center in addressing over the next several months.”<div>---</div><div>https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/11/karl-rove-crossroads-gps-is-dead-long-live-dark-money-operation</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cycle=2016&cmte=C90016262" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">One Nation</a>, a conservative 501(c)(4) “dark money” nonprofit masterminded by Karl Rove, raised nearly $17 million last year, according to the most recent <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5141942-One-Nation-2017-990.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">IRS tax filings</a> released Friday.Meanwhile, Crossroads GPS — formerly a dominant group in conservative circles and also run by Rove — <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5141941-Crossroads-GPS-2017-990.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">raised</a> just $75,000 last year, all but confirming its demise less than a year after the IRS granted it tax-exempt status.The two dark money groups — along with the conservative <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=C00487363&cycle=2018" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">American Crossroads</a> and <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00571703" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Senate Leadership Fund (SLF)</a> — share the same Washington, D.C. office and employees. Each organization is run by Steven Law, a former chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who remains closely aligned with the groups.One Nation does not reveal its donors, but it reported receiving four contributions north of $1 million, the biggest being an individual $7.9 million contribution.The dark money group handed out only one grant last year — a $500,000 grant to the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=d000000082" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">National Rifle Association</a> for “social welfare” purposes.It spent nearly $6.5 million by the end of the year, including $3.1 million on media services. One Nation spent $1.7 million with Main Street Media Group, which has long been associated with One Nation and SLF. Politically active 501(c)(4) nonprofits are supposed to exist for the purpose of promoting “social welfare” and not allowed to have politics as their primary purpose but the IRS has not established any “bright line” rules governing how much politicking is too much, a vagueness <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/02/how-crossroads-gps-beat-the-irs-and-became-a-social-welfare-group/" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">even Crossroads GPS</a> has lamented.One Nation paid a total of 10 independent contractors more than six figures in 2017. Some of its other large payments to contractors include six figures for legal services to a high-powered law firm that helped the group win the battle for tax-exempt status the prior year and another $250,000 payment to opposition research firm America Rising LLC.As it was not an election year, One Nation’s spending in 2017 was down from 2016, when it reported spending more than $63 million. Politically active nonprofits are not required to disclose spending totals in tax filings with the IRS until 10-and-a-half months after the end of an organization’s fiscal year — long after the group wrapped up its political spending.Crossroads GPS was once a dominant outside spending group, shelling out <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/recips.php?cmte=C90011719&cycle=2012" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">$71 million in an attempt to defeat Democrats in 2012</a>. The group was so prolific that its legal battles ultimately spawned <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/11/millions-in-masked-money-funneled-into-2018-elections/" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">new guidance from the FEC</a> earlier this year that now requires all “dark money” groups that spend at least $250 on independent expenditures explicitly advocating for or against a candidate to report every donor who gave at least $200 for “political purposes” in the calendar year.The nonprofit reported raising more than $16 million in 2016, but its funding appears to have disappeared almost entirely as the focus shifts to One Nation.The tight-knit super PACs and dark money groups like to shuffle their money around and have remained active in the 2018 election cycle. SLF <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cycle=2018&cmte=C00571703" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a> accepting one contribution of $6.8 million from One Nation in September 2018 and two additional $3 million contributions last month.SLF — which spent nearly $94 million to support Republican Senate candidates, mostly through attack ads — is the second-largest donor to American Crossroads in 2018, giving more than $690,000.<div class="related-box" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; width: 760px; padding: 8px 0px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 12px;">RELATED TOPICS<ul class="related-list" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 0px -5px; padding: 0px; list-style: none;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 0px 5px 10px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: inside; float: left;"><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/501c-groups/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background: rgb(236, 238, 242); text-decoration-line: none; display: block; padding: 5px 11px; border-radius: 3px;">501(c) groups</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 0px 5px 10px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: inside; float: left;"><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/american-crossroads/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background: rgb(236, 238, 242); text-decoration-line: none; display: block; padding: 5px 11px; border-radius: 3px;">American Crossroads</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 0px 5px 10px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: inside; float: left;"><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/anna-massoglia/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background: rgb(236, 238, 242); text-decoration-line: none; display: block; padding: 5px 11px; border-radius: 3px;">Anna Massoglia</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 0px 5px 10px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: inside; float: left;"><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/crossroads-gps/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background: rgb(236, 238, 242); text-decoration-line: none; display: block; padding: 5px 11px; border-radius: 3px;">Crossroads GPS</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 0px 5px 10px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: inside; float: left;"><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/dark-money/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background: rgb(236, 238, 242); text-decoration-line: none; display: block; padding: 5px 11px; border-radius: 3px;">dark money</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 0px 5px 10px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: inside; float: left;"><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/karl-evers-hillstrom/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background: rgb(236, 238, 242); text-decoration-line: none; display: block; padding: 5px 11px; border-radius: 3px;">karl evers-hillstrom</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 0px 5px 10px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: inside; float: left;"><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/karl-rove/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background: rgb(236, 238, 242); text-decoration-line: none; display: block; padding: 5px 11px; border-radius: 3px;">Karl Rove</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 0px 5px 10px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: inside; float: left;"><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/one-nation/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background: rgb(236, 238, 242); text-decoration-line: none; display: block; padding: 5px 11px; border-radius: 3px;">One Nation</a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; margin: 0px 5px 10px; padding: 0px; list-style-position: inside; float: left;"><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/tag/senate-leadership-fund/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-height: 1e+06px; background: rgb(236, 238, 242); text-decoration-line: none; display: block; padding: 5px 11px; border-radius: 3px;">senate leadership fund</a></li></ul></div></div><div>
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</div><div></div><a href="https://littlesis.org/maps/1576-america-rising">https://littlesis.org/maps/1576-america-rising</a>https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs
<ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising and Affiliated Entities" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising and Affiliated Entities</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Background on America Rising" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Background on America Rising</a><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads: The Various Corporate Entities of America Rising</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising Advanced Research Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising Advanced Research (aka, America Rising Squared, aka AR2)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Definers Public Affairs Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Definers, the corporation-serving, for-profit venture of America Rising</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising Tactics" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising in Action</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Who%C2%A0Funds America Rising?" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Who Funds America Rising?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Network Map of the America Rising Family" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Network Map of the America Rising Family</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Actions" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Actions</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Staff of America Rising's Entities" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Staff of America Rising's Entities</a><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising LLC" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising LLC</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising PAC Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising PAC Staff</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising Advanced Research Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising Advanced Research Staff</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Definers Public Affairs Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Definers Public Affairs Staff</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Resources" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Resources</a></li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">America Rising and Affiliated Entities<a id="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" name="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" style="" /></h2><ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><a id="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" name="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" style=""></a><a id="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" name="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" style="">America Rising LLC: The original for-profit opposition research company. </a></li><li><a id="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" name="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" style=""></a><a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising PAC</a>: The political action committee.</li><li><a href="http://www.arsquared.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising Squared</a> (aka, America Rising Advanced Research; aka, AR2 or AR2): The nonprofit 501(c)4. </li><li><a href="http://corenews.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Core News</a>: A media platform published by America Rising Squared.</li><li><a href="http://www.definersdc.com/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Definers Public Affairs</a>: A public affairs agency launched by America Rising founders.  </li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Background on America Rising</h2><div>...</div><div><table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; width: 452px;"><tbody><tr><td>Donor</td><td style="width: 74px;">Total</td></tr><tr><td>Paul Singer</td><td style="width: 74px;">$250,000</td></tr><tr><td>Miguel Fernandez</td><td style="width: 74px;">$100,000</td></tr><tr><td>Ronald Weiser</td><td style="width: 74px;">$50,000</td></tr><tr><td>End Spending Action Fund</td><td style="width: 74px;">$50,000</td></tr><tr><td>Michael Vlock</td><td style="width: 74px;">$50,000</td></tr><tr><td>Keller Investment Properties</td><td style="width: 74px;">$25,000</td></tr><tr><td>Harol Brierley</td><td style="width: 74px;">$25,000</td></tr><tr><td>JJ Matthews</td><td style="width: 74px;">$25,000</td></tr><tr><td>LE Simmons</td><td style="width: 74px;">$25,000</td></tr><tr><td>CBI Ventures LLC</td><td style="width: 74px;">$15,000</td></tr><tr><td>Roger Enrico</td><td style="width: 74px;">$15,000</td></tr><tr><td>Allen & Kelli Questrom</td><td style="width: 74px;">$15,000</td></tr><tr><td>Brian France</td><td style="width: 74px;">$15,000</td></tr><tr><td>Edward Schutter</td><td style="width: 74px;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Allen & Kelli Questrom</td><td style="width: 74px;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Gregory Ciongoli</td><td style="width: 74px;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Scott Sperling</td><td style="width: 74px;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>SJZ, LLC</td><td style="width: 74px;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Keller Investment Properties</td><td style="width: 74px;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Keller Investment Properties</td><td style="width: 74px;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>William Kunkler</td><td style="width: 74px;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Paul Dickson</td><td style="width: 74px;">$5,472</td></tr><tr><td>Jerry Langer</td><td style="width: 74px;">$5,000
...</td></tr></tbody></table></div><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs">https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs</a>717<h1 style="line-height: 1.2em; margin-top: 0.75em; margin-bottom: 0.75em;">America Rising</h1><ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising and Affiliated Entities" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising and Affiliated Entities</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Background on America Rising" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Background on America Rising</a><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads: The Various Corporate Entities of America Rising</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising Advanced Research Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising Advanced Research (aka, America Rising Squared, aka AR2)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Definers Public Affairs Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Definers, the corporation-serving, for-profit venture of America Rising</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising in Action" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising in Action</a><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Grill" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Grill, the America Rising Crowdsourcing “Tracker” App</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Who Funds America Rising?" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Who Funds America Rising?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Network Map of the America Rising Family" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Network Map of the America Rising Family</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Staff of America Rising's Entities" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Staff of America Rising's Entities</a><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising LLC" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising LLC</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising PAC Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising PAC Staff</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#America Rising Advanced Research Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising Advanced Research Staff</a></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Definers Public Affairs Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Definers Public Affairs Staff</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#Resources" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Resources</a></li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">America Rising and Affiliated Entities<a id="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" name="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" /></h2><ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><a id="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" name="America Rising and Affiliated Entities"></a><a id="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" name="America Rising and Affiliated Entities"></a><a id="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" name="America Rising and Affiliated Entities"></a><a id="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" name="America Rising and Affiliated Entities">America Rising LLC: The original for-profit opposition research company. </a></li><li><a id="America Rising and Affiliated Entities" name="America Rising and Affiliated Entities"></a><a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising PAC</a>: The political action committee.</li><li><a href="http://www.arsquared.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising Squared</a> (aka, America Rising Advanced Research; aka, AR2 or AR2): The nonprofit 501(c)4. </li><li><a href="http://corenews.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Core News</a>: A media platform published by America Rising Squared.</li><li><a href="http://www.definersdc.com/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Definers Public Affairs</a>: A public affairs agency launched by America Rising founders.  </li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Background on America Rising<a id="Background on America Rising" name="Background on America Rising" /></h2><a id="Background on America Rising" name="Background on America Rising"></a><a id="Background on America Rising" name="Background on America Rising"></a><a id="Background on America Rising" name="Background on America Rising"></a><a id="Background on America Rising" name="Background on America Rising" /><a id="Background on America Rising" name="Background on America Rising" /><a id="Background on America Rising" name="Background on America Rising">America Rising LLC and </a><a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising PAC</a> were <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gop-dirt-diggers-dog-clinton/article/2563108" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">founded in Spring of 2013</a>, in response to perceived Democratic superiority in the field of opposition research. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s1" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[1]</a> The related but distinct corporate entities are both commonly referred to as America Rising, and the entities are often confused. Most popular mentions in the media and public refer to the activities of the PAC. As <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/21/romney-campaign-chief-to-lead-new-gop-research-group/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">CNN described when the enterprises first launched</a>: <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s2" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[2]</a><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;">As a super PAC, [America Rising] will focus on digital campaigns and placing negative stories about Democrats in the news media. It does not plan to run television ads.A separate wing of the group will incorporate as a limited liability company (LLC), which can coordinate directly with campaigns and political committees by sharing video and resources. [To avoid making illegal in-kind corporate contributions, the LLC needs to charge for access to the videos and resources.]</blockquote>The America Rising joint enterprise was founded as an opposition research shop described by the <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/political-operatives-find-demand-for-their-skills-in-business-world-1462136874" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Wall Street Journal</a> as “the unofficial research arm of the Republican Party.” <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s3" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[3]</a> America Rising PAC <a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/about/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">describes itself</a> as “an organization on the right for the sole purpose of exposing the truth about Democrats through video tracking, research, and communications,” and spends its time attacking democrats, progressives and environmentalists. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s4" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[4]</a>America Rising co-founder Matt Rhoades previously worked for <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/dci-group" style="text-decoration-line: none;">DCI Group</a> and was Mitt Romney's campaign manager for the Republican nominee's failed 2012 presidential bid. America Rising's other co-founder Joe Pounder is a long-time Republican strategist and opposition researcher, and a former research director at the Republican National Committee. Pounder resigned from America Rising to work on Marco Rubio's campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. After Rubio suspended his campaign, Pounder returned to the America Rising family as president of Definers Public Affairs. (More on Definers below.) In early 2014, America Rising PAC's website AmericaRisingPAC.org <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/02/america-rising-pac-relaunches-as-news-site-183542" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">relaunched as a “news site,”</a> in order to easily publish and spread attack videos and blog posts about opposition targets. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s5" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[5]</a><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads: The Various Corporate Entities of America Rising<a id="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" name="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" /></h3><a id="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" name="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads"></a><a id="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" name="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads"></a><a id="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" name="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads"></a><a id="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" name="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" /><a id="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" name="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" /><a id="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads" name="Hiding Donors and Running Attack Ads">The various entities under the America Rising umbrella give the enterprise a flexible structure that can serve different purposes. The PAC can purchase research from the LLC and can sell or disseminate it to other organizations. The 501(c)4 nonprofit, AR2, doesn't have to declare its donors. (More on AR2 below.) All told, America Rising had a budget of $8 million for the 2014 elections and is seeking to </a><a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article24783463.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">nearly double this</a>. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s6" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[6]</a>The organization <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gop-dirt-diggers-dog-clinton/article/2563108" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">reportedly</a> has more than 100 staff, including a large number of “trackers” who follow the group’s targets around the country and record their actions. Presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is the group's biggest target, but America Rising also undertakes a wide range of opposition research on Democrats and progressives, including prominent environmentalists, before disseminating it to other right-wing organizations and on social media.America Rising is located in the <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2013/11/conservative-research-group-america.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">same building</a> as <a href="http://www.definersdc.com/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Definers</a>, a public affairs agency “launched by” America Rising, which hosts many former AR staff and which undertakes similar research work for <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/political-operatives-find-demand-for-their-skills-in-business-world-1462136874" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">corporate clients</a>, and which has <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/expends/vendor.php?year=2016&vendor=Definers+Corp" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">received money</a> from America Rising. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s7" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[7]</a>, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s8" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[8]</a><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">America Rising Advanced Research (aka, America Rising Squared, aka AR2)<a id="America Rising Advanced Research" name="America Rising Advanced Research" /></h3><a id="America Rising Advanced Research" name="America Rising Advanced Research"></a><a id="America Rising Advanced Research" name="America Rising Advanced Research"></a><a id="America Rising Advanced Research" name="America Rising Advanced Research"></a><a id="America Rising Advanced Research" name="America Rising Advanced Research" /><a id="America Rising Advanced Research" name="America Rising Advanced Research" /><a id="America Rising Advanced Research" name="America Rising Advanced Research" /><a href="http://www.arsquared.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising Advanced Research</a> (aka, America Rising Squared, aka, AR2), the nonprofit 501(c)4 arm of the family, was launched publicly in July 2015, although it appears in <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/expends/vendor.php?year=2014&vendor=Ar2+Inc" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">FEC filings</a> as early as February 2014. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s9" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[9]</a>As a nonprofit 501(c)4, AR2 doesn't have to disclose its donors, like the parent PAC does. The nonprofit is limited from running political attack ads, but can publish videos and news and advertise about issues themselves. <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/america-rising-launches-nonprofit-affiliate/article/2568199" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Washington Examiner explains</a>: <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s10" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[10]</a><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;">The issues-based 501(c)4 won't be able to run ads directly attacking political foes the way America Rising does. But the group is permitted to spend roughly half of what it raises on political persuasion, and can run critical spots urging someone like Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, to take positions on particular issues.</blockquote>America Rising Advanced Research has launched an aggressive social media campaign against leading figures in the US environmental movement, including creating the website <a href="http://corenews.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Core News</a> which features attacks on prominent climate policy advocates including Bill McKibben, Tom Steyer and Leonardo DiCaprio.<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/america-rising-squared-brian-rogers_us_5727a97de4b0f309baf18848" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Brian Rogers</a>, the executive director of America Rising Advanced Research, was briefly the research director for Al Gore’s <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Alliance for Climate Protection</a>, where he worked on a campaign “to pass comprehensive energy and climate change legislation.” Rogers was also a longtime senior adviser to Republican Senator John McCain and held key roles in McCain's run for the US presidency in 2008. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s11" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[11]</a><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Definers, the corporation-serving, for-profit venture of America Rising<a id="Definers, the corporation-serving" name="Definers, the corporation-serving" /></h3><a id="Definers, the corporation-serving" name="Definers, the corporation-serving"></a><a id="Definers, the corporation-serving" name="Definers, the corporation-serving"></a><a id="Definers, the corporation-serving" name="Definers, the corporation-serving"></a><a id="Definers, the corporation-serving" name="Definers, the corporation-serving" /><a id="Definers, the corporation-serving" name="Definers, the corporation-serving" /><a id="Definers, the corporation-serving" name="Definers, the corporation-serving">In 2015, America Rising founders Matt Rhoades and Joe Ponder launched Definers Public Affairs as a communications agency for corporate clients. </a><a href="http://www.definersdc.com/#!Welcome-To-Definers/xg28x/577be6af0cf2a27045ee82a8" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Pounder describes</a>: <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s12" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[12]</a><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;">The formation of Definers actually began with the founding of America Rising LLC by Matt Rhoades and myself in 2013. I’ve known Rhoades since 2004 when I was his intern at Bush-Cheney ’04. We’ve worked together on and off for the next decade. After 2012 when he was the campaign manager for Mitt Romney and I was the research director at the Republican National Committee, we decided to start America Rising to focus on opposition research, rapid response communications, and video tracking for political clients.As we built America Rising into a 60-person operation with employees across the country, we were actually turning away corporate clients so we could focus exclusively on our political mission. In 2015, we changed that and formed Definers. </blockquote>Today, Definers Public Affairs shares the politically-linked leadership of America Rising and several staff members with other AR entities. For example, America Rising Advanced Research executive director Brian Rogers is also a <a href="http://www.definerscorporation.com/#!brian-rogers/ddq57" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Senior Vice President at Definers</a>. Definers Public Affairs is also located in the same Arlington, Virginia office building as America Rising LLC. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s13" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[13]</a>According to the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org database, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/expends/vendor.php?year=2016&vendor=Definers+Corp" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">two groups reported payments to Definers during the 2016 election cycle</a>: Marco Rubio for President made five payments totalling $52,200; America Rising PAC made 6 payments totaling $42,500. The first of these payments was on 06-08-2015. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s8" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[8]</a>In June, 2016, Definers <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/6/7/15746928/republicans-political-opposition-tech-silicon-valley-trump" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">expanded its reach to Silicone Valley</a> in Oakland, working with former Jeb Bush communications director Tim Miller. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s36" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[36]</a><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;">“Silicon Valley is a natural target for their so-called 'oppo' efforts,” Recode reported. In in interview, Miller told Recode, that the “spotlight that is on their industry,” meaning more investment is needed to ensure “you have positive content pushed out about your company and negative content that’s being pushed out about your competitor, or regulator, or activist groups or activist investors, that are challenging you.” <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s36" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[36]</a>“There might be some companies that are more willing to engage in that,” Miller said, but “increasingly, as [Silicon Valley] companies mature, I think they may recognize the need to do that.” <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s36" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[36]</a></blockquote><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">America Rising in Action<a id="America Rising in Action" name="America Rising in Action" /></h2><a id="America Rising in Action" name="America Rising in Action"></a><a id="America Rising in Action" name="America Rising in Action"></a><a id="America Rising in Action" name="America Rising in Action"></a><a id="America Rising in Action" name="America Rising in Action" /><a id="America Rising in Action" name="America Rising in Action" /><a id="America Rising in Action" name="America Rising in Action">America Rising and AR2 send “trackers” – staff members with video cameras tasked with recording their targets – to follow top tier Democratic candidates on the campaign trails and key environmentalists and other opposition research targets. At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Activism Boot Camp, America Rising hosted a </a><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/02/27/today-in-politics-105/#post-mb-5" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">seminar</a> titled “We’re Watching You: How to Video Track 24/7.” <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s14" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[14]</a>In August, 2015: AR2 launched <a href="http://www.arsquared.org/states/mo/morising/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Missouri Rising</a>, a regional affiliate to “[promote] conservative issues and [shape] the debate in Missouri.”America Rising LLC runs a website called <a href="http://www.americarisingimages.com/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">AmericaRisingImages.com</a>, from which they sell photos that have been taken at the hundreds of campaign events attended by the trackers. <a href="http://www.americarisingimages.com/Site-Content/ABOUT-US/n-BZm2pD" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising LLC describes</a>: <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s15" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[15]</a><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;">We have no control over the lighting at the events we film, often have less than cooperative subjects, and make no claim to being professional photographers. We offer them to you as a cost-competitive alternative to meet your digital and direct mail needs.</blockquote>The Ameria Rising Advanced Research (AR2) runs a website called <a href="http://corenews.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Core News</a>, which features attacks on prominent environmentalists including Tom Steyer, Bill McKibben and Leonardo DiCaprio, and <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/danvergano/core-news-news?bffbnews&utm_term=4ldqpho#4ldqpho" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">was described by Buzzfeed</a> as a “secretly funded propaganda site … [that] is publishing stories attacking environmentalists, scientists, and politicians who warn about climate change.” Stories range from “aggressively opinionated, to sort-of true, to demonstrably false,” according to Buzzfeed. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s16" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[16]</a>America Rising has attacked Democrats who opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, and has a particular focus on billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer, hosting articles titled “Steyer Watch” and <a href="http://www.arsquared.org/campaign-cash-for-bad-energy-policy/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">criticizing</a> Steyer for spending more than $65 million on his super PAC races in the 2014 election. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s17" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[17]</a>In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T73DVZg824&feature=youtu.be" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">February 2016</a>, America Rising Squared released an attack ad on Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton which showed footage of Sanders agreeing with a statement that the greatest threat to national security is climate change while showing images of terrorists side-by-side with the melting Arctic. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s18" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[18]</a>[pix vid]America Rising Advanced Research has announced that the group will conduct in-depth research on potential Supreme Court nominees. “Rogers said the group was using around 10 researchers to search the Internet, law libraries around the country and other sources to probe the backgrounds of several possible selections to replace the late Antonin Scalia,” the Associated Press <a href="http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/2215604a40a747929a569a500c0824c2/capitol-hill-buzz-tampons-pads-free-shelters" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a>. A later report by the Associated Press <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1eb9e6bfd61042ada9600ae15dc1042d/rnc-launches-campaign-oppose-obamas-supreme-court-pick" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">stated</a> the RNC contracted with AR2 to help with research on a potential Supreme Court nominee. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s19" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[19]</a>, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s20" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[20]</a><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Anti-EV White Paper</h3>In June, 2017, America Rising (AR Squared) wrote<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/350735554/The-Human-Environmental-Costs-Of-Clean-Energy" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> a white paper </a>that was <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/06/09/report-green-energy-products-produced-under-worst-environmental-rights-violations/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">picked up by The Daily Caller </a>as evidence that “the materials required to build electric vehicles and solar panels are produced under some of the most worst environmental and labor conditions on Earth.” <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s34" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[34]</a><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;">“The inconvenient truth is that these ‘clean’ sources of energy are produced under the worst of labor and environmental rights violations,” the report, titled <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/350735554/The-Human-Environmental-Costs-Of-Clean-Energy" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The Human & Environmental Costs of 'Clean Energy'</a>“ claims.<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s35" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[35]</a></blockquote><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Grill, the America Rising Crowdsourcing “Tracker” App<a id="Grill" name="Grill" /></h3><a id="Grill" name="Grill"></a><a id="Grill" name="Grill"></a><a id="Grill" name="Grill"></a><a id="Grill" name="Grill" /><a id="Grill" name="Grill"></a><a id="Grill" name="Grill">In May 2016, </a><a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/america-rising-launches-video-tracking-app-grill/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">America Rising PAC released an app</a> that “arms users attending political events with adversarial questions to ask Democratic candidates.” Called “<a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi-tPTN7YTOAhXDDj4KHXeQDZ8QFggjMAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fgrill-by-america-rising%2Fid1105056995%3Fmt%3D8&usg=AFQjCNE9ladUClIkmTk31GdPkh9vq_14oA&sig2=K7jrmdIElWUUJ7RIjkXSlA" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Grill</a>,” the app also allows users to record video, which is uploaded to a private channel that can be accessed by America Rising employees, who evaluate and screen the footage for promotion. The app also lists candidate events for users based on geographical location. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s21" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[21]</a>“Never before have attendees of political events had at their fingertips a set of pointed, incisive questions guaranteed to make news,” America Rising PAC communications director <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/meganapper/gop-opposition-research-firm-launches-video-tracking-app-for?utm_term=.tqpbWVEM1b#.nw70nMa9b0" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Jeff Bechdel told BuzzFeed News</a>. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s22" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[22]</a><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Who Funds America Rising?<a id="Who Funds America Rising?" name="Who Funds America Rising?" /></h2><a id="Who Funds America Rising?" name="Who Funds America Rising?"></a><a id="Who Funds America Rising?" name="Who Funds America Rising?"></a><a id="Who Funds America Rising?" name="Who Funds America Rising?"></a><a id="Who Funds America Rising?" name="Who Funds America Rising?" /><a id="Who Funds America Rising?" name="Who Funds America Rising?" /><a id="Who Funds America Rising?" name="Who Funds America Rising?">Donations to America Rising Advanced Research (aka, America Rising Squared) are not declared, as it is incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)4.</a><a id="Who Funds America Rising?" name="Who Funds America Rising?">America Rising LLC is a business that can sell its services with no disclosures necessary. According to </a><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cycle=2016&cmte=C00542902" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">OpenSecrets.org</a>, the Republican National Committee spent at least $183,900 on America Rising in the 2016 election cycle, with an additional $45,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee.<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s32" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> [32]</a>OpenSecrets also breaks down individual <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cycle=2016&cmte=C00542902" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">payments</a> to the America Rising PAC for the 2016 election cycle: <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs#s23" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[23]</a><table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; width: 500px;"><tbody><tr><td>Paul Singer</td><td>$250,000</td></tr><tr><td>Miguel Fernandez</td><td>$100,000</td></tr><tr><td>Ronald Weiser</td><td>$50,000</td></tr><tr><td>End Spending Action Fund</td><td>$50,000</td></tr><tr><td>Michael Vlock</td><td>$50,000</td></tr><tr><td>Keller Investment Properties</td><td>$25,000</td></tr><tr><td>Harol Brierley</td><td>$25,000</td></tr><tr><td>JJ Matthews</td><td>$25,000</td></tr><tr><td>LE Simmons</td><td>$25,000</td></tr><tr><td>CBI Ventures LLC</td><td>$15,000</td></tr><tr><td>Roger Enrico</td><td>$15,000</td></tr><tr><td>Allen & Kelli Questrom</td><td>$15,000</td></tr><tr><td>Brian France</td><td>$15,000</td></tr><tr><td>Edward Schutter</td><td>$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Allen & Kelli Questrom</td><td>$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Gregory Ciongoli</td><td>$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Scott Sperling</td><td>$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>SJZ, LLC</td><td>$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Keller Investment Properties</td><td>$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Keller Investment Properties</td><td>$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>William Kunkler</td><td>$10,000</td></tr><tr><td>Paul Dickson</td><td>$5,472</td></tr><tr><td>Jerry Langer</td><td>$5,000</td></tr><tr><td>Andrew Puzder</td><td>$5,000</td></tr><tr><td>Andrew Puzder</td><td>$5,000</td></tr><tr><td>Jonathan Bullen</td><td>$5,000</td></tr><tr><td>Louis Chiavacci</td><td>$5,000</td></tr><tr><td>James Tozer</td><td>$5,000</td></tr><tr><td>Walter Schlaepfer</td><td>$5,000</td></tr><tr><td>Scott Keller</td><td>$3,442</td></tr><tr><td>LE Simmons</td><td>$2,102</td></tr><tr><td>LE Simmons</td><td>$2,101</td></tr><tr><td>Peter Huizenga</td><td>$2,000</td></tr><tr><td>Robert Beyer</td><td>$1,000</td></tr><tr><td>Michaelon Wright</td><td>$1,000</td></tr><tr><td>EPAY Business Solutions</td><td>$854</td></tr><tr><td>Robert Davis</td><td>$500</td></tr><tr><td>Allan Blutstein</td><td>$250</td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Network Map of the America Rising Family</h2><div>[live graph web]</div><div>
</div><div>no link pix:</div><div><div>Staff of America Rising's Entities</div><div>
</div><div>Note that America Rising LLC and America Rising PAC share many staff members. Staff are listed below by how staffers describe themselves on LinkedIn, or how they have been described in news articles. </div><div>
</div><div>Matt Rhoades, Co-founder, America Rising LLC, America Rising PAC, America Rising Advanced Research, Definers Public Affairs</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>“He founded America Rising in response to a recommendation contained in an autopsy of Romney’s failed presidential run that was ordered by the Republican National Committee. The group’s original goal was to compete with American Bridge, the Democratic opposition research group, but its focus under Mr. Rhoades has been to subject Mrs. Clinton to an ordeal similar to Mr. Romney’s.” [New York Times] - [24]</div><div>
</div><div>Joe Pounder, Co-founder, America Rising LLC, America Rising PAC, America Rising Advanced Research; Co-founder and President, Definers Public Affairs</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>One Republican who worked closely with Pounder credits him with revolutionizing the way the party does opposition research, ushering in an age where opposition research and rapid response are living, breathing things that move with the news cycle and social media. More importantly, a number of Republicans said, Pounder is more than a one-trick pony. He is a master of opposition research, but he also understands how best to put that information to use in other parts of a campaign, making sure that research and communications teams work in sync with each other. [National Review] - [25]</div><div>
</div><div>America Rising LLC</div><div>
</div><div>Raj Shah, Co-founder, Director, and Deputy Communications Director</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Shah is now Research Director, GOP</div><div>Raj Shah most recently served as Co-Founding Partner and Managing Director of America Rising LLC, where he developed the organization’s Hillary Clinton opposition research book. He previously served as a Deputy Research Director at the RNC during the 2012 presidential election cycle. A graduate of Cornell, he has also worked on Senate and presidential campaigns and served in the Office of Presidential Personnel during the administration of President George W. Bush. [GOP.com]</div><div>
</div><div>Byron Koay, Managing Director, Co-founder</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Twitter </div><div>
</div><div>Allan Blutstein, Vice President of Freedom of Information Act Operations</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Allan Blutstein has joined the firm as vice president of Freedom of Information Act operations, placing him in charge of public records requests. Blutstein, who joined the firm after working at the government accountability firm Cause of Action, is a lawyer and public records expert. He previously worked as a principal legal adviser to the FOIA staff at the Treasury Department's Office of Financial Stability, as well as in the Department of Justice's Office of Information and Privacy. [Roll Call] - [26]</div><div>
</div><div>Alexandra Angel, Vice President</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Angel has one of the toughest jobs on the right: Finding new oppo research on Hillary Clinton, one of the most known-commodity candidates in U.S. history. Leading a team of eight analysts, Angel directs day-to-day research and rapid response operations focused specifically on the 2016 presidential race. Before going to America Rising, Angel spent two years as an account executive at DCI Group, where she tracked federal legislation. She’s also done a couple stints at the RNC and worked as deputy operations director on Steve Poizner’s 2010 gubernatorial run in California. She’s also put her research and analytical skills to use as an instructor for the Close Up Foundation, a group that promotes civic participation. [Campaigns and Elections] - [27]</div><div>
</div><div>Dan Knight, Vice President of House Research</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter </div><div>
</div><div>Dan Knight, who was a senior research analyst in the 2014 cycle, will now serve as vice president of House research for the 2016 cycle.  [Roll Call]</div><div>
</div><div>Daniel Knight is Vice President of House Research at America Rising LLC, where he manages a team of analysts engaged in research and rapid response on Democratic House candidates in the 2016 election. Prior to his work at America Rising, which he joined in 2014 as a senior research analyst, Dan worked at the National Republican Congressional Committee and at a DC-area conservative non-profit. [Red Alert Politics]</div><div>
</div><div>Aaron Baer, Vice President of Tracking and Video</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Cooper Reves, Digital Director</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Francis Brennan, Deputy War Room Director</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>“We’re the eyes and ears,” said Francis Brennan, 25, war room director at the conservative political action committee America Rising. “We try to just pump out as many facts as we can. Everything we do is fact-based. It’s not scrutinized or opinion-based. It’s all facts. We have to prove what we are saying. We can’t just say things.” [McClatchy] - [6]</div><div>
</div><div>Matt Vollenweider, Deputy Team Leader</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Kyle Sisenstein, Deputy Senate Team Leader</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Domenick Cocchiara, Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Rocco Cavalluzzi, Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Jillian Davidson, Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Julia Hoy, Senate Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Carter Reese, Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Michael Berg, Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Ari Schaffer, Presidential Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Sam Montgomery, Office Manager</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Scott Sloofman, Tracker</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Ryan Powers, Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Charles Lehman, Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>Charles Lehman</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Google+</div><div>
</div><div>Garrett Fulce, Director of Full-Time Tracking</div><div>
</div><div>Garrett Fulce</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Travis Cady</div><div>
</div><div>Travis Cady</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Kevin Brinegar, Tracker/Field Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>Kevin Brinegar</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Chris Malloy, Field Research Analyst / Tracker</div><div>
</div><div>Chris Malloy</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Tim Wigginton, Tracker/Field Researcher</div><div>
</div><div>Tim Wigginton</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Robert Rose, Tracker/Field Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>Robert Rose</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Patrick Peterson, Tracker/Field Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>Patrick Peterson</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Grace Nowak, Field Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>Grace Nowak</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Nicholas Goeden, Tracker/Field Researcher</div><div>
</div><div>Nicholas Goeden</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Nick Bolger, War Room Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>Nick Bolger</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>America Rising PAC Staff</div><div>
</div><div>Colin Reed, Executive Director</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>“Reed brings his recent experience as Sen. Scott Brown’s 2014 campaign manager… Previously, Reed served as deputy communications director for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, communications director for Scott Brown’s 2012 Senate race, and press secretary in Brown’s Senate office. Reed also has experience at the NRSC, and on the 2008 presidential campaigns of Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain.” [America Rising PAC] - [28]</div><div>
</div><div>Jeff Bechdel, Communications Director</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Amelia Chassé, Press Secretary</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Those who have worked alongside Chassé describe her as savvy and relentless—she “never gets outworked,” according to longtime McCain adviser Brian Jones. As vice president at Hynes Communications, Chassé manages the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and devises online strategy for many of the firm’s top clients, including American Crossroads. At the start of the 2012 cycle, Chassé helped Crossroads cultivate its relationship with online conservatives. Chassé also counts herself among the cadre of young GOP consultants pushing her party to more fully embrace the digital age. [Campaigns and Elections Magazine] - [29]</div><div>
</div><div>Joe Chaudoin, Research Analyst</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>America Rising Advanced Research Staff</div><div>
</div><div>Brian Rogers, Executive Director</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Brian Rogers is Executive Director of America Rising Squared (AR2). Prior to joining AR2, Rogers served as Communications Director to U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), and previously served as Deputy Communications Director and Research Director for McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and held senior communications and opposition research roles on multiple statewide campaigns across the country, at the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. [ARSquared] - [30]</div><div>
</div><div>“Rogers is best known as the long-time spokesman for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). He was also McCain’s spokesman during the senator’s 2008 presidential campaign, during which Rogers made headlines for arguing that Obama, too, lived in “a frickin’ mansion“ and was an “arugula-eating, pointy-headed professor type….But Rogers was also, for a short time, the research director for former Vice President Al Gore’sAlliance for Climate Protection. Upon taking that job in May 2009, he said he would be “working on the Repower America campaign to pass comprehensive energy and climate change legislation.” [Huffington Post] - [11]</div><div>
</div><div>Jeremy Adler, Communications Director (previously, Research Analyst, America Rising LLC)</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Jeremy Adler is Communications Director of America Rising Squared (AR2). He previously served as a regional press secretary for Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign. Before that, he worked as a member of America Rising’s Senate research team and also was a part of Scott Brown’s 2014 New Hampshire Senate campaign. [ARSquared] - [30]</div><div>
</div><div>Definers Public Affairs Staff</div><div>
</div><div>Matt Rhoades and Joe Pounder, below described above, are respectively Founder and President of Definers. </div><div>
</div><div>Jim Barnett, Chief Operating Officer</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Jim Barnett’s experience spreads presidential, statewide, local, corporate and issue campaigns. Prior to joining Definers, Barnett served as Vice President for Political Affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform. Barnett is a veteran of Republican politics having managed Sen. John McCain’s comeback victory in the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary and U.S. Senator Scott Brown’s $45 million 2012 campaign. He is a past chairman of the Vermont Republican Party and served as deputy campaign manager and communications director for Governor Jim Douglas’s 2002 upset victory. [Definers] - [31]</div><div>
</div><div>Brian Rogers, Senior Vice President</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Tim Miller, Partner</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Tim Miller, former spokesman for Jeb Bush, joined Definers Public Affairs in September. Miller said the firm is going to go “more aggressively…directly after threats to our clients” and Definers will build digital platforms for the Washington fights. [33]</div><div>
</div><div>Julia Cotrone, Special Assistant</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Michael Chenderlin, Chief Digital Officer</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Christy Paavola, Vice President</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Geoff Embler, Senior Vice President</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Tim Killeen, Senior Vice President</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Andrew Lautz, Research Associate</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn, Twitter</div><div>
</div><div>Sara Pietsch, Art Director</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Mike Presutti, Research Associate</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Will Schenkel, War Room Associate</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Todd Scher, Research Associate</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Jasmine Sossa, Graphic Designer</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Nick Zanetti, Research Associate</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>LinkedIn</div><div>
</div><div>Resources</div><div>
</div><div>David M. Drucker. “GOP dirt diggers dog Clinton,” Washington Examiner, April 15, 2015. Archived July 23, 2016. Backup archive url: http://archive.is/sZkWI</div><div>
</div><div>Peter Hamby. “Romney campaign chief to lead new GOP research group,” PoliticalTicker, March 21, 2013. Archived July 23, 2015. Backup archive URL: https://archive.is/fMEgo</div><div>
</div><div>Patrick O'Connor. ”Political Operatives Find Demand for Their Skills in Business World,” The Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.</div><div>
</div><div>“About,” America Rising. Archived July 25, 2016. Backup archive URL: https://archive.is/QXjMc</div><div>
</div><div>Dylan Byers. “America Rising PAC relaunches as news site,” Politico, February 18, 2014. Archived July 24, 2016. Backup archive url: https://archive.is/YVJUa</div><div>
</div><div>Anita Kumar. “Step into war rooms planning Hillary Clinton’s defeat,” McClatchyDC, April 22, 2015. Archived July 25, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.</div><div>
</div><div>Danial J. Sernovitz. “Conservative research group America Rising lands in Rosslyn,” Washington Business Journal, November 11, 2014. Archived July 25, 2016.</div><div>
</div><div>“Vendor/Recipient: Definers Corp,” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed July 24, 2016.</div><div>
</div><div>“Vendor/Recipient: Ar2 Inc,” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed July 25, 2016.</div><div>
</div><div>David M. Drucker. “America Rising launches nonprofit affiliate,” Washington Examiner, July 14, 2015. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/2FM1Z</div><div>
</div><div>Kate Sheppard. “One-Time Gore Staffer Leads Plan To Track The ‘Environmentalist Left’,” The Huffington Post, May 2, 2016. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/AlGsx</div><div>
</div><div>Joe Pounder. “Welcome To Definers,” Definers Public Affairs, July 5, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.</div><div>
</div><div>“Brian Rogers: Senior Vice President,” Definers Public Affairs. Accessed July 25, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.</div><div>
</div><div>“Today in Politics,” The New York Times, February 26, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.</div><div>
</div><div>“About Us,” America Rising Images. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/gMjnw</div><div>
</div><div>Dan Vergano. “New Site For Climate “News” Shows The Future Of Oppo Research,” BuzzFeed News, June 7, 2016. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/LkdLZ</div><div>
</div><div>“Campaign Cash for Bad Energy Policy?” America Rising Squared. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/wRrpU</div><div>
</div><div>“The Democratic Socialist Party,” YouTube video uploaded by user America Rising Squared, February 11, 2016.</div><div>
</div><div>Alan Fram. “Capitol Hill Buzz: GOP research group targets court nominees,” The Big Story, March 1, 2016. Archived July 25, 2016.</div><div>
</div><div>Josh Lederman. “GOP prepares to fight Obama nominee, no matter whom he picks,” The Big Story, March 14, 2016. Archived July 25, 2016.</div><div>
</div><div>“America Rising Launches Video Tracking App, 'Grill',” AmericaRisingPAC. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.is url: https://archive.is/q0UKD</div><div>
</div><div>Megan Apper. “GOP Opposition Research Firm Launches Candidate Tracking App,” BuzzFeed News. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Ogb4f</div><div>
</div><div>“America Rising PAC: Contributors, 2016 cycle,” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed July 25, 2016.</div><div>
</div><div>Ashley Parker and Nick Corasaniti. “The Right Baits the Left to Turn Against Hillary Clinton,” The New York Times, May 16, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.</div><div>
</div><div>Alexis Levinson. “Oppo-Research Ace Joe Pounder Joins Rubio Campaign,” National Review, November 6, 2015. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8lISG</div><div>
</div><div>Emily Cahn. “America Rising Hires Three for 2016,” Roll Call, June 4, 2015. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Ix9cB</div><div>
</div><div>“2016 RISING STARS,” Campaigns & Elections, June 8, 2016. Archived July 25, 2016. Arhchive.is URL: https://archive.is/SF2fb</div><div>
</div><div>“America Rising PAC Announces New Executive Director Colin Reed,” America Rising. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.IS URL: https://archive.is/jNexd</div><div>
</div><div>“2013 Rising Stars,” Campaign & Elections Magazine, June 11, 2013. Archived February 7, 2014. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.</div><div>
</div><div>“AR2 About Us,” America Rising Squared. Archived July 25, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/FX5m2</div><div>
</div><div>“Jim Barnett: Chief Operating Officer,” Definers Public Affairs. Accessed July 25, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.</div><div>
</div><div>“Vendor/Recipient: America Rising,” OpenSecrets.org. Accessed July 27, 2016.</div><div>
</div><div>Jake Sherman. “Former Jeb Bush spokesman Tim Miller joining Definers Public Affairs,” Politico, September 6, 2016. Archived September 9, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dMcw3</div><div>
</div><div>“Report: Green Energy Products Produced Under ‘Worst’ Environmental Rights Violations,” The Daily Caller, June 9, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/hVAz3</div><div>
</div><div>“The Human & Environmental Costs of 'Clean Energy',” Scribd document uploaded by AR Squared on June 8, 2017. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.</div><div>
</div><div>Tony Romm. “Republican political operatives want to sell the dark arts of opposition research to tech companies,” Recode, June 7, 2017. Archived July 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/xxk3s</div><div>
</div><div>TAGS: america rising squareddefiners public affairsamerica risingamerica rising llcar2America Rising PACdenierorgs</div></div>=<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/koch-brothers-electric-cars-2456866524.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/koch-brothers-electric-cars-2456866524.html</a><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Koch Brothers Launch Attack to Kill Electric Cars</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px;"><div class="article-body body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url selectionShareable" data-url="https://www.ecowatch.com/koch-brothers-electric-cars-2456866524.html" data-headline="Koch Brothers Launch Attack to Kill Electric Cars" data-elid="2456866524" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 10px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="article-description body-description" style="margin-bottom: 10px;">By Ben Jervey<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/fueling-us-forward" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Fueling U.S. Forward</a>, the Koch-funded campaign to "rebrand" fossil fuels as "positive" and "sustainable," has released a new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_WscmJSB2c" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">video</a> attacking the Dirty Secrets of Electric Cars, signaling a possible strategic pivot from straightforward fossil fuel cheerleading to electric vehicle (EV) and clean energy bashing.The video and accompanying <a href="https://fuelingusforward.com/dirty-secrets-electric-cars/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Dirty Secrets of Electric Cars web page</a> feature blatant factual errors, misleading statements and glaring omissions (all of which will be debunked thoroughly below), while essentially attacking <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">electric cars</a> for using the same materials needed to manufacture cell phones, laptops, defense equipment and gas-powered cars, and which are even a critical component of the very oil refining processes that form the foundation of the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/koch-brothers" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Koch</a> fortunes.When Fueling U.S. Forward launched last August, the organization's president <a href="http://www.kochvsclean.com/charles-drevna/" target="blank" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Charles Drevna</a> described the campaign as an effort to rebrand fossil fuels by focusing on the "positive" aspects of coal, oil and gas. This <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_WscmJSB2c" target="blank" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">newly released video</a> seems to further confirm investigative journalist <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/koch-electric-vehicles_us_56c4d63ce4b0b40245c8cbf6" target="blank" style="text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Peter Stone's reporting from last spring</a>that the Kochs were "plotting a multimillion dollar assault on electric vehicles."How do we know that Fueling U.S. Forward is this Koch-funded campaign? First, Charles Drevna, who is leading the effort, developed the concept while serving as a distinguished senior fellow at the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/institute-energy-research" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Institute for Energy Research</a>, a pro-fossil fuel think tank that was partially founded by Charles Koch and that is run by a <a href="http://www.kochvsclean.com/thomas-pyle/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">longtime lobbyist for Koch Industries</a>. Second, and more concretely, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/08/14/new-koch-back-campaign-rolled-out-red-state-gathering-aims-promote-positives-fossil-fuels" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Drevna told DeSmog's Sharon Kelly</a> that he was working with <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/koch-industries-inc" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Koch Industries</a>' board member (and longtime Koch brothers' confidant) <a href="http://www.kochvsclean.com/james-mahoney/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">James Mahoney</a> on the campaign and that it was funded by "one of the brothers."Echoes of America Rising Squared<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/fueling-us-forward" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Fueling U.S. Forward</a> and <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">America Rising Squared (or AR2)</a> have no public affiliation. Yet within a few weeks in June, both groups launched attacks on electric vehicles using the same misleading arguments and nearly identical language. While the former group is a known Koch-funded campaign to promote fossil fuels, the latter has <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/08/06/how-america-rising-ties-gop-establishment-stalkers-harassing-bill-mckibben-and-tom-steyer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">close ties to the GOP establishment</a>, and has <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/america-rising-llc-pac-america-rising-squared-definers-public-affairs" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">invested heavily in promoting alleged hypocrisy among climate action advocates</a>, even paying "trackers" to follow around the likes of Tom Steyer and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/community/bill_mckibben/" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Bill McKibben</a>.In June, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/06/25/america-rising-squared-report-bashes-evs-using-same-rare-earth-metals-gas-powered-cars" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">as DeSmog reported</a>, AR2 published a white paper that purports to reveal the "human and environmental costs of 'clean energy,'" taking electric vehicles and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">solar</a> panels to task for their reliance on rare Earth metals. As we wrote at the time:Here's what the white paper doesn't mention: many of the very same rare Earth minerals that the AR2 report bashes are critical components of cell phones, computers, cameras, military and defense equipment, and even traditional gas-powered vehicles. What's more, the petroleum refining process is critically dependent on some of the same rare Earths that AR2 lambasts in this white paper.The new video from Fueling U.S. Forward echoes the AR2 talking points, almost to the word. (For a closer analysis of the AR2 report, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/06/25/america-rising-squared-report-bashes-evs-using-same-rare-earth-metals-gas-powered-cars" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">see the original DeSmog article</a>).Debunking the New Fueling U.S. Forward Electric Car Attack Video<div id="AdThrive_Content_2_desktop" class="adthrive-ad adthrive-dynamic adthrive-content" data-google-query-id="CKL76PrEjtUCFVA7TwodwfIKjw" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; text-align: center; overflow-x: visible !important;">
</div>The Fueling U.S. Forward video (which is still unlisted on Youtube, but available to be shared and viewed by anyone with the link) is short enough that we can walk through it line by line."This is an electric car/ Car companies say it's a clean alternative/ But electric cars are more toxic to humans than average cars."This depends on an exceedingly narrow definition of "toxic." If you only consider the materials that go into the batteries of electric cars versus the batteries of "average" cars, then this is maybe defensible. But if you consider the materials that go into the entire vehicle, as well as the fuel used to power the vehicle, than EVs are far cleaner and less toxic.First, there's the fact that gas-powered vehicles require some of the same "toxic" rare Earth metals that the video criticizes. (More on that below). Then there's the even bigger issue that tailpipe emissions—including ozone, particulate matter and other smog-forming chemicals—are the dominant source of ground level air pollution, and nearly one half of all Americans live in areas that <a href="https://www.epa.gov/learn-issues/air-resources#air-pollution" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">don't meet federal minimum air quality standards</a>. In fact, emissions from road transportation cause roughly 53,000 premature deaths every year in the U.S., <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2013/study-air-pollution-causes-200000-early-deaths-each-year-in-the-us-0829" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">according to MIT researchers</a>....</div></div>http://www.alternet.org/right-wing/whos-behind-billionaire-pac-targeting-elizabeth-warrenAmerica Rising, a billionaire-backed conservative group, is targeting Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as she tours the country in support of her new book, according to a memo obtained by <a href="http://www.politico.com/states/massachusetts/story/2017/04/conservative-pac-training-firepower-on-warren-111273" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Politico</a>.“We view (the) book launch as the soft launch of her presidential campaign,” said executive director Colin Reed. “We’ll do the same to her as we did with Hillary Clinton in 2014,” Reed added.America Rising’s backers would stand to lose some cushy tax breaks and regulatory favors if the progressive policies advocated by Sen. Warren were enacted. For her part, Warren denies that she’s running for the presidency and notes that this is her 11th book.America Rising is tracking a number of potential contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, and Sen. Kamala Harris of California.The group appears to be taking special interest in Warren, however. Reed’s memo cites her “enormous sway” over the party and describes her – inaccurately – as its “titular head.” (Reed does not appear to know what the word “titular” means.)The Rise of America RisingAmerica Rising was formed in 2013 by Matt Rhoades, the director of Mitt Romney’s failed 2012 presidential campaign, and it represents the worst of what our current political system offers. Its goal is not to debate the issues or offer solutions to the nation’s problems. Instead, the PAC gets cash from big-money donors and spends it trying to tear down its political opponents.The Republican National Committee’s “autopsy” of its 2012 presidential loss reportedly <a href="https://www.salon.com/2017/04/24/bye-bye-bernie-the-self-appointed-captain-of-the-democratic-ship-needs-to-stop-chasing-the-great-white-male/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">concluded</a> that the party needed an organization that would “do nothing but post inappropriate Democratic utterances and act as a clearinghouse for information on Democrats.”In the time-honored Washington tradition of “failing up,” the leader of the party’s most recent failure was chosen to head up the new operation. But, to be fair, Rhoades was not an entirely inappropriate choice. One of his early career highlights, if you can call it that, involved <a href="https://www.salon.com/2017/04/24/bye-bye-bernie-the-self-appointed-captain-of-the-democratic-ship-needs-to-stop-chasing-the-great-white-male/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">funneling “oppo” information</a> to a seedy but popular website called “The Drudge Report” on behalf of George W. Bush.The group made a splash the <a href="https://www.salon.com/2017/04/24/bye-bye-bernie-the-self-appointed-captain-of-the-democratic-ship-needs-to-stop-chasing-the-great-white-male/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">following year</a> when it sent “trackers” to record everything key Democratic candidates did and said on the campaign trail. The goal was to record a “blooper” that could be played over and over on news and social media to embarrass the candidate.Big-Money BackersThe group’s <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00542902" style="text-decoration-line: none;">million-dollar-plus budget</a> is funded by a bevy of high-dollar backers. The list of donors during the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?sort=A&cmte=C00542902&cycle=2014&Page=1" style="text-decoration-line: none;">2014</a> and <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cmte=C00542902&cycle=2016" style="text-decoration-line: none;">2016</a> election cycles includes:Hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer specializes in “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/nov/15/vulture-funds-key-players?intcmp=122" style="text-decoration-line: none;">vulture capitalism</a>” – purchasing distressed assets and squeezing every last dollar out of them. Singer’s fund earned the “<a href="http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1586&context=lcp" style="text-decoration-line: none;">vulture</a>” label by purchasing the debts of distressed governments like Panama and Peru, and then pressuring the authorities to force repayment. In Argentina’s case, the fund’s tactics including <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2012/10/05/the-real-story-behind-the-argentine-vessel-in-ghana-and-how-hedge-funds-tried-to-seize-the-presidential-plane/#2cab0e9625aa" style="text-decoration-line: none;">seizing an Argentine vessel</a> docked in an African port.Singer, a major Republican donor, is the founder of a hedge fund called Elliott Management Corporation. He <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zephyr-teachout-paul-singer-debate_us_57b21d62e4b0718404126567" style="text-decoration-line: none;">flooded</a> New York’s 19th Congressional district with money last year in order to successfully defeat reform Democrat Zephyr Teachout. Teachout offered to debate Singer, whom she labeled “the actual voice” of her opposition, but he declined to respond. Singer was America Rising’s largest reported donor.Wrestling magnate Linda McMahon, who ran <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/with-wrestling-hire-trump_b_13523884.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the World Wrestling Entertainment empire</a> with husband Vince McMahon and is now Donald Trump’s head of the Small Business Administration. McMahon gave <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/16/wwe-co-founder-linda-mcmahon-gave-6-million-to-pro-trump-super-pac/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">$6 million to Trump’s campaign</a> – money Trump has reportedly used in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-used-258000-from-his-charity-to-settle-legal-problems/2016/09/20/adc88f9c-7d11-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html?utm_term=.e7ef45fe9e7d" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ethically dubious ways</a>.Hilcorp Energy Corporation, a Texas-based fossil fuels company that has been sued for <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/886472/hilcorp-can-t-beat-la-fishermen-s-clean-water-act-claims" style="text-decoration-line: none;">violating the Clean Water Act</a> in Louisiana. Hilcorp allegedly damaged oyster beds by dredging canals without the proper permission, using a destructive technique known as “<a href="http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2016/07/oyster_growers_sue_hilcorp_for.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">prop washing</a>.”The company was recently ordered to clean up a 4,200-gallon oil spill in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and last month oil was <a href="http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/03/oil_gas_leaking_from_abandoned.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">reportedly leaking</a> from an abandoned Hilcorp well head on the lower Mississippi. Also in March, regulators <a href="https://www.adn.com/business-economy/energy/2017/03/06/federal-agency-says-leaking-cook-inlet-gas-line-is-a-hazard-and-must-be-repaired/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">reported</a> that a Hilcorp gas line in Alaska’s Cook Inlet was leaking 225,000 to 335,000 cubic feet of gas per day and demanded that it be repaired or shut down.Hedge-fund billionaire Kenneth Griffin, a self-described “<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/15/king-ken-recovered-citadel-chief-takes-the-hedge-fund-throne.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Reagan Republican</a>” who once <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/15/king-ken-recovered-citadel-chief-takes-the-hedge-fund-throne.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">testified</a> before the U.S. Senate that U.S. stock markets are the “fairest, most transparent, resilient and competitive markets anywhere in the world” – a claim that would surprise hundreds of thousands of documented victims of Wall Street investor and borrower fraud.Health insurance executive Mike Fernandez, who became a <a href="http://www.floridatrend.com/article/15414/on-the-other-side-of-a-billion" style="text-decoration-line: none;">billionaire</a> in the HMO business before becoming a major Republican donor. Fernandez, who <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/elections-2016/article48067815.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">supported</a> Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush, initially opposed Trump in 2016 and supported Hillary Clinton. In December 2015 Fernandez declared Trump “<a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article48067815.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">unelectable</a>.”Real estate tycoon Ronald Weiser. <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/michigan_republican_ron_weiser.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Weiser</a>, a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party who also acted as the Republican National Committee’s national finance chairman, was a member of Donald Trump’s fundraising committee in 2016.Money for NothingWhat are these big-money interests getting for their money? America Rising’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AmericaRisingPAC/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook page</a> is an oddly listless affair. Its <a href="https://twitter.com/AmericaRising?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter feed</a> still features unflattering and now outdated photos of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine, the candidates on last year’s Democratic presidential ticket.The real “value proposition” for efforts like America Rising lies in their ability to plant destructive stories about their opponents in respected news outlets (a category that does not include Drudge). These efforts are more difficult to trace.The group’s current anti-Warren efforts include sending trackers to videotape the senator’s book tour, in hopes of catching her saying something embarrassing, and a somewhat sophomoric “<a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/candidate/elizabeth-warren/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">candidate page</a>” attacking the Massachusetts Democrat. It has posted similar pages for Sanders, Booker, and other Democratic presidential prospects.All in all, America Rising’s efforts have an oddly dated feel to them. Its social media effects feel perfunctory, and its “gotcha” approach to tracking seems like a relic of past campaigns. Politicians like Warren and Sanders have so far proven resilient against the politics of negativity. America Rising’s billionaire patrons could find more constructive uses for their money.Cross-posted from <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/04/13237/who-is-behind-billionaire-pac-targeting-elizabeth-warren" style="text-decoration-line: none;">PRWatch</a><div wibbitz="embed-main-player" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="bio-new body_story" style="width: 630px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px; height: auto; border-top: 3px solid rgb(223, 223, 218); clear: both; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="author-bio">Richard (RJ) Eskow is a blogger and writer, a former Wall Street executive, a consultant, and a former musician.</div></div>mckibben steyer<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/opinion/sunday/embarrassing-photos-of-me-thanks-to-my-right-wing-stalkers.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/07/opinion/sunday/embarrassing-photos-of-me-thanks-to-my-right-wing-stalkers.html</a>==bs
America Rising PAC was set up in Spring

2013 to serve as an organization on the right for the sole purpose of

exposing the truth about Democrats through video tracking, research, and

communications. By cataloguing every Democrat utterance we have the

data to ensure they are held accountable for their words and actions.

Our work influenced the 2014 elections. Bloomberg <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-11-05/democrats-are-even-losing-the-rewrite-of-the-2014-election?hootPostID=4a603ee35d08ee1fc3d267c743b4f1b9" target="blank">said</a> we “rattled Democrats who were not used to losing the media’s story lines” in 2014. Politico <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/democrats-lose-2014-midterms-112581_Page4.html" target="blank">referenced</a> our

video of Iowa Democrat Bruce Braley calling Senator Chuck Grassley “a

farmer from Iowa who never went to law school” as “a definitive moment

in the race, virtually everyone agrees.” The Washington Post’s “The

Fix” <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/11/04/winners-and-losers-of-the-2014-election-early-edition/" target="_blank">named</a> us a winner of 2014, saying America Rising “proved its value this cycle.”

We’re also looking forward to influencing the 2016 elections. The <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/03/24/gop-rising-the-oppo-battle-is-joined/" target="blank">Washington Post </a>and <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/20/first-on-cnn-stop-hillary-effort-launches/" target="blank">CNN</a> have

called America Rising the leading group on the right preparing for a

Hillary Clinton candidacy and the earliest sustained effort to begin

defining future Democratic presidential contenders. Follow our Hillary

Clinton coverage <a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/candidate/hillary-clinton/" target="_blank">here</a>.

You can see the candidates we’re tracking and visit their profile pages <a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/candidates/" target="blank">here</a>.  <a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/bruce-braleys-farmer-attack-fallout/" target="blank">

</a>

With your support we can add to the list of Democrats we are tracking. Please help our work by contributing <a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/donations/donate/" target="blank">here</a>. If you have any feedback or tips that can help us hold Democrats accountable, <a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/tips/" target="blank">write us anytime.</a> You can also contact us <a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/contact/">here</a>. If you’re interested in career and internship opportunities, <a href="https://www.americarisingpac.org/jobs/">click here</a>.

<h2>America Rising In The News</h2>

<address>A few articles about our organization</address>

Washington Post: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2014/11/11/inside-the-republican-oppo-research-operation/" target="_blank">Inside the Republican ‘oppo’ research operation</a>

Bloomberg: <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-10-17/hatewatching-hillary" target="_blank">Inside the Republican machine scrutinizing Clinton’s every word.</a>

National Journal: <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/the-conservative-playbook-against-hillary-clinton-20140610" target="_blank">The Conservative Playbook Against Hillary Clinton</a>

CNN: America Rising PAC’s Tim Miller Joins Crossfire To Talk About “Failed Choices” (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdzkCdrK96Q" target="blank">Part 1</a>) (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEd8QudWrD8" target="blank">Part 2</a>)

Free Beacon: <a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/america-rising-report-criticizes-hillary-clintons-state-dept-over-benghazi/" target="_blank">America Rising: Report Criticizes Hillary Clinton’s State Dept. Over Benghazi</a>

Slate: <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/01/america_rising_the_republican_pac_that_s_filming_every_vulnerable_democratic.html" target="_blank">Every

Step You Take, Every Move You Make – The Republican PAC that’s filming

every single thing that key Democratic candidates do or say.</a>

Weekly Standard: <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/hillary-speeches-cost-san-francisco-police-21000_819731.html" target="_blank">Hillary Speeches Cost San Francisco Police $21,000</a>

<blockquote><address>“A number of public records requests by the GOP

opposition research firm America Rising reveal the San Francisco police

department incurred extra expenses directly related to speeches given by

Clinton in 2014.”</address>

</blockquote>

MSNBC: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-ID-Y5m9ko" target="_blank">America Rising PAC Releases eBook As Clinton Memoir Hits Stores</a>

National Review: <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/390232/clinton-charges-university-225000-speech-high-cost-tuition-jim-geraghty" target="_blank">Clinton Charges University $225,000 for Speech on High Cost of Tuition</a>

<h2>Also, take a look at some of what we accomplished in the 2014 cycle:</h2>
uses epay sic venderhttps://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/expenditures.php?cmte=C00542902&cycle=2016#topvendorsOfficial PAC Name: AMERICARISINGPAC.ORG  Location: ARLINGTON, VA 22210 Industry: <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/industry.php?txt=Q01&cycle=2016" style="text-decoration: none; line-height: 24px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Republican/Conservative</a> Treasurer: MATT RHOADES  FEC Committee ID: C00542902 (Look up <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?C00542902" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; line-height: 24px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">actual documents filed</a> at the FEC)<table class="datadisplay" style="font-weight: bold; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; width: 630px; line-height: 24px; background: rgb(224, 230, 236);"><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">SINGER, PAUL ELLIOTT MR
NEW YORK, NY 10019</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">INVESTMENTS</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">04/20/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$250,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">FERNANDEZ, MIGUEL MR
CORAL GABLES, FL 33134</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">MBF HEALTHCARE</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">10/09/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$100,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">WEISER, RONALD
ANN ARBOR, MI 48104</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">MCKINLEY ASSOCIATES, INC.</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">03/09/16</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$50,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">END SPENDING ACTION FUND
TAMPA, FL 33606</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">03/07/16</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$50,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">VLOCK, MICHAEL
BRANFORD, CT 06405</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">INVESTOR</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">06/29/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$50,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">KELLER INVESTMENT PROPERTIES
CENTERVILLE, UT 84014</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">02/02/16</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$25,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">BRIERLEY, HAROL
DALLAS, TX 75205</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">THE BRIERLEY GROUP</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">06/29/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$25,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">MATTHEWS, JJ MRS
ABILENE, TX 79604</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">INVESTOR</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">07/02/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$25,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">SIMMONS, LE MR
HOUSTON, TX 77002</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">SCF PARTNERS</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">11/13/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$25,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">CBI VENTURES LLC
COLUMBIA, MO 65201</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">02/11/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$15,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">ENRICO, ROGER
DALLAS, TX 75201</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">RETIRED</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">06/29/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$15,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">QUESTROM, ALLEN & KELLI MR
DALLAS, TX 75225</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">RETIRED</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">11/21/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$15,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">FRANCE, BRIAN
DAYTONA BEACH, FL 90071</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">NASCAR</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">04/27/16</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$15,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">SCHUTTER, EDWARD
MARIETTA, GA 30067</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">ARBOR PHARMACEUTICALS</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">02/25/16</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">QUESTROM, ALLEN & KELLI MR
DALLAS, TX 75225</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">RETIRED</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">07/11/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">CIONGOLI, GREGORY
WELLESLEY HILLS, MA 02481</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">BAUPOST GROUP</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">03/07/16</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">SJZ LLC
BOSTON, MA 02116</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">09/15/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">KELLER INVESTMENT PROPERTIES
CENTERVILLE, UT 84014</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">01/04/16</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">FORST, EDWARD C
BRONXVILLE, NY 10708</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">RETIRED</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">11/17/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">CBI VENTURES LLC
COLUMBIA, MO 65201</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">07/06/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">DICKSON, PAUL
SHREVEPORT, LA 71135</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">MORRIS DICKSON</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">08/21/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">KELLER INVESTMENT PROPERTIES
CENTERVILLE, UT 84014</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">10/02/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">KELLER INVESTMENT PROPERTIES
CENTERVILLE, UT 84014</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">
</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">12/07/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">KUNKLER, WILLIAM
CHICAGO, IL 60601</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">CC INDUSTRIES, INC.</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">10/20/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$10,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">DICKSON, PAUL
SHREVEPORT, LA 71135</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">MORRIS DICKSON</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">07/03/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$5,472</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">LANGER, JERRY
MONTVILLE, NJ 07045</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">LANGER TRANSPORT CORPORATION</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">12/19/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$5,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">PUZDER, ANDREW
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93108</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">CKE RESTAURANT HOLDINGS, INC.</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">08/04/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$5,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">PUZDER, ANDREW
SANTA BARBARA, CA 93108</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">CKE RESTAURANT HOLDINGS, INC.</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">10/19/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$5,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">BULLEN, JONATHAN
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84111</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">COMENA GROUP</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">02/10/16</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$5,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">TOZER, JAMES MR
NEW YORK, NY 10065</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">VECTRA MANAGEMENT</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">06/05/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$5,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">CHIAVACCI, LOUIS
CORAL GABLES, FL 33156</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">MERRILL LYNCH</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">03/08/16</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$5,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">SCHLAEPFER, WALTER
BELLEVUE, WA 98009</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">MERRILL LYNCH</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">03/22/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$5,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">KELLER, SCOTT
CENTERVILLE, UT 89037</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">CEO/PRESIDENT</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">07/29/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$3,442</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">SIMMONS, LE MR
HOUSTON, TX 77002</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">SCF PARTNERS</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">10/27/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$2,102</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">SIMMONS, LE MR
HOUSTON, TX 77002</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">SCF PARTNERS</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">10/27/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$2,101</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">HUIZENGA, PETER H
OAK BROOK, IL 60523</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">HUIZENGA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">02/09/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$2,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">BEYER, ROBERT
LOS ANGELES, CA 90067</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">CHAPRAL INVESTMENTS</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">06/17/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$1,000</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">WRIGHT, MICHAELON
TROY, MI 48084</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">TMW ENTERPRISES, INC</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">03/27/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$1,000</td></tr><tr><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">DAVIS, ROBERT
MANHATTAN BEACH, CA 90266</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">RETIRED</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">07/08/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$500</td></tr><tr style="background-color: rgb(240, 243, 246);"><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">BLUTSTEIN, ALLAN MR
WASHINGTON, DC 20001</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">RETIRED</td><td style="padding: 5px; vertical-align: top;">04/07/15</td><td class="number" style="padding: 5px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top;">$250</td></tr></tbody></table>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/opposition-research/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/03/21/america-rising-mitt-romney-staffer-starting-opposition-research-group/America Rising: Mitt Romney staffer starting opposition research group
By Rachel Weiner March 21, 2013

Mitt Romney's campaign manager is joining with two Republican National Committee staffers to form a new conservative opposition research group, America Rising.

Matt Rhoades, Mitt Romney's campaign manager and the research director for George W. Bush's 2004 campaign, will reportedly lead the effort, first reported by CNN. He will be joined by RNC research director Joe Pounder and spokesman Tim Miller.

In its 98-page autopsy of the current Republican party, the RNC called for "an outside group ... that focuses solely on research of Democrats," one that will "establish a private archive and public website that does nothing but post inappropriate Democrat utterances and act as a clearinghouse for information."

Democrats already have a group like this: American Bridge 21st Century. Founded by David Brock, the former conservative behind the liberal media watchdog Media Matters, American Bridge tracked Republican candidates in the field and scoured their public appearances for embarrassing quotes. The group spotted and circulated Rep. Todd Akin's comments on "legitimate rape" and Rep. Steve King's comparison of immigrants to dogs. The group sent mailers to voters highlighting Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's controversial statement on pregnancy and rape.

"We plan to start this enterprise because so many Republicans seem to agree that there is a need on our side of the aisle for an entity that is focused on solely holding Democrats accountable for their actions and records using research, candidate tracking, rapid response and digital tools," Rhoades said in a statement.

On top of its research on potential Democratic 2016 contenders, the group plans to test different dissemination methods for maximum impact. Campaigns will include social media, digital advertising and PR aimed at earned media coverage. The group does not plan to air television ads.

"It doesn't surprise me that Republicans would want to replicate this," American Bridge President Rodell Mollineau said, warning that "it's not as easy as it looks."

America Rising will be divided into a super PAC and a limited liability company with clients; the latter would be legally capable of working with campaigns and committees. American Bridge is divided into a super PAC and a nonprofit 501(c)(4) foundation that does not have to disclose its donors.

Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said the group was "excited about the efforts of groups like America Rises that will further strengthen the future of the Republican Party." The RNC is also expanding its research operation going into the 2014 elections

<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/01/america_rising_the_republican_pac_that_s_filming_every_vulnerable_democratic.html">http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/01/america_rising_the_republican_pac_that_s_filming_every_vulnerable_democratic.html</a>

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmillergopCommunications Director at Jeb Bush 2016

    Washington D.C. Metro Area
    Public Relations and Communications

Current   

    Jeb Bush 2016

Previous   

    America Rising PAC, America Rising LLC, Republican National Committee

Education   

    The George Washington University

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Experience

    Communications Director
    Jeb Bush 2016
    February 2015 – Present (1 year 4 months)Miami/Fort Lauderdale Area
    Executive Director
    America Rising PAC
    March 2013 – February 2015 (2 years)
    Co Founder
    America Rising LLC
    March 2013 – February 2015 (2 years)Washington D.C. Metro Area
    Republican National Committee
    Deputy Communications Director
    Republican National Committee
    March 2012 – March 2013 (1 year 1 month)

    Oversaw a 16 person regional/state-based communications team. Liason with Romney for President on regional communications and rapid response.
    National Press Secretary
    Jon Huntsman for President
    June 2011 – February 2012 (9 months)
    The Glover Park Group
    Director
    The Glover Park Group
    July 2009 – February 2011 (1 year 8 months)

    Lead digital communications strategist in the Public Affairs division.
    Communications Strategist
    Berman and Company
    August 2007 – July 2009 (2 years)

    Managed communications campaigns for conservative non-profit organizations.
    Iowa Communications Director
    John McCain
    2006 – 2007 (1 year)
    Political Director
    Bill Dix for Congress
    November 2005 – June 2006 (8 months)
    Communications Director
    Jeff Lamberti for Congress
    2006 – 2006 (less than a year)
    Field Director
    Jerry Kilgore for Governor
    2005 – 2005 (less than a year)
    Travel Aide
    Bill Lee for Governor
    2004 – 2004 (less than a year)
    Intern/Various
    Bill Owens
    1998 – 2002 (4 years)

---
scrape

    Jesse Hunt

    New Hampshire Communications Director at Jeb 2016
    Jeb Bush

    2016 Presidential Candidate
    Kristy Campbell

    Deputy Communications Director at Romney for President
    Nathan S. Lamb

    Campaign Manager at Ted Gatsas for Governor
    Danny Diaz

    Partner, FP1 Strategies
    Sally Bradshaw

    Independent Political Organization Professional
    Emily Benavides

    Press Secretary at U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH)
    David Kochel

    Owner at Red Wave Communications
    Matt Gorman

    Director of Rapid Response at Jeb 2016
    Joe Pounder

    President at Definers Public Affairs

Jim Barnett’s experience spreads presidential,

statewide, local, corporate and issue campaigns. Prior to joining

Definers, Barnett served as Vice President for Political Affairs for the

U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform. Barnett is a

veteran of Republican politics having managed Sen. John McCain’s

comeback victory in the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary and

U.S. Senator Scott Brown’s $45 million 2012 campaign. He is a past

chairman of the Vermont Republican Party and served as deputy campaign

manager and communications director for Governor Jim Douglas’s 2002

upset victory.==
He

showed me a tiny video camera that had been hidden inside an Aquafina

water bottle, and others embedded in a wristwatch and in an iPod

Shuffle. A device in his shirt button, which used Bluetooth technology,

could relay live audio to his control room. He argued, “What I do is the

truest form of journalism there is. We hit the record button and show

people what we found.” The political left also outsources much of its dirty work to privately funded super PACs

and dark-money groups. After the Democrats were eviscerated in the 2010

midterm elections—the first congressional campaigns after the Citizens

United decision—an independently funded group named American Bridge 21st

Century began supplying opposition research to Democratic groups and

candidates. The network was founded by David Brock, a self-described

former “conservative hit man” who became notorious in the early nineties

for having described Anita Hill as “a little bit nutty and a little bit

slutty.” In the aughts, Brock, who is gay, joined the Democratic

Party—in part because he found the Republican Party homophobic—bringing

with him an insider’s expertise in cutthroat politics. He describes

American Bridge, which employs a hundred and fifty people, as a

political “utility” for progressives. The

American Bridge network includes Media Matters, a watchdog operation

that identifies what it sees as distortions by the right-wing press, and

Correct the Record, a rapid-response unit that focusses on defending

Hillary Clinton. Brock’s group also oversees political action

committees, dark-money nonprofit organizations, and at least fifty video

“trackers,” who hound Republican candidates in the hope of recording

politically damaging moments. Video trackers have been mainstays of

campaigns since 2006, when a Democratic volunteer upended George Allen,

the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Virginia, by releasing a video

of him uttering a racist slur. In 2012, one of the trackers with

Brock’s organization captured Todd Akin, a Missouri Republican running

for the Senate, defending “legitimate rape.” With American Bridge’s

success has come funding, largely from labor unions and wealthy

liberals. One of the biggest contributors this year is George

Soros—which may help explain why he was the object of an O’Keefe sting. After

Mitt Romney lost the 2012 Presidential election, conservative

operatives concluded that they needed their own putatively independent

negative-campaign machine. Out of this partisan arms race grew America

Rising—the unofficial oppo-research affiliate of the Republican

Party—which was founded in 2013 by Matt Rhoades, the former head of

Romney’s campaign. Based in Arlington, Virginia, it diverges from

Brock’s network in one crucial respect: It is a limited-liability

corporation. Instead of relying on charitable and political donations,

America Rising serves as a for-profit vender to conservative clients,

who pay it to conduct customized negative research. Rhoades

and others declined to respond to interview requests, but when I

stopped by America Rising’s headquarters, on May 18th, the office was

filled with young researchers bent over their laptops. The walls were

decorated with photographs of conservative icons (though Trump’s

portrait seemed to be missing). An office door was covered with

bull’s-eye targets, and a sign reminded staffers of the “Research

Checklist: Nexis, Google Alerts, Facebook, Twitter.” Brock

told me that his group had rejected the vender model. “We didn’t want

to be under clients’ thumbs,” he said. “If you work for them, you’re

subservient. We wanted to build an independent progressive

infrastructure.” Recently, some donors wanted video trackers to trail

the Koch brothers, but Brock turned them down. American Bridge does a

huge amount of oppo research on the Kochs, but Brock says he believes

that tracking private citizens is unethical. He claims that he has also

rejected the use of subterfuge. “We’re not in that game,” he says. By

contrast, in late April the dark-money arm of Rhoades’s group, America

Rising Squared, announced the creation of a negative campaign to target

leading environmentalists as well as prominent donors to environmental

causes and candidates. The campaign’s initial budget was a hundred

thousand dollars, which, among other things, would cover the extensive

use of video trackers. According to the political tip sheet The Hill,

the campaign would subject environmentalists to “the same level of

scrutiny . . . that opposition research firms apply to presidential

candidates.” America Rising Squared’s executive director, Brian Rogers,

told The Hill that his group planned to hold “the

Environmentalist Left accountable for their epic hypocrisy and extreme

positions which threaten America’s future prosperity.” <a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892" /><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892"></a><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892"></a><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892" /><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892" /><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892" /><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892" /><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892" /><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892" /><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892">Almost

simultaneously, in early May, the organization announced the launch of

an affiliated venture, run by many of the same operatives, called

Definers Public Affairs. Definers offers to wage political-style

negative campaigns, for profit, on behalf of undisclosed private

clients, including corporations. According to its Web site, Definers

will “create dossiers” on opponents, monitor them from a “full-service

war room,” and build both “grassroots” alliances and “a paid online

presence.” This raises the possibility that undisclosed business

interests are paying to choose the targets they want Republican

operatives to attack.</a><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892"> </a><a class="tny-page" name="/5" data-total-words="3892">Soon after

the campaign against environmentalists was announced, Bill McKibben, who

teaches environmental studies at Middlebury College, in Vermont, got an

alarming phone call from a librarian at Texas Tech University, in

Lubbock, who supervises a literary archive to which McKibben had

contributed his research papers. McKibben has been an outspoken activist

against the Keystone XL pipeline, and in 2008 he co-founded 350.org, a

“global grassroots climate movement.” For many years, he was a staff

writer for this magazine. (He is now a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books,

where he recently reviewed a book of mine.) He is a political thinker,

but not a candidate, a major political donor, or a paid campaign

operative.</a> The Texas librarian,

Diane Warner, told McKibben that a man had shown up at the archive and

requested copies of all his papers—fifty-four boxes of documents. The

man identified himself as Aaron Goss, and said that he worked for

Definers Public Affairs. Goss spent a week copying pages from McKibben’s

archive. Meanwhile, as McKibben was getting ready to speak about the

environment at a church in Durham, New Hampshire, an unfamiliar man

aimed a video camera at him. The next day, a wordless two-second snippet

of footage appeared online, showing McKibben looking at the camera and

then turning away uncomfortably, to the accompaniment of the song “Show

Me That Smile.” The video, which was titled “Bill McKibben: Ready for

His Closeup,” was posted to the Twitter account of Corenews.org. The

site is another recent creation of America Rising Squared, as is an app

called Grill, which enables users to track the location of ideological

enemies, including Hillary Clinton, and lists hostile questions to ask

at public events, such as “Will you drop out of the Presidential race if

you are indicted?” Within days, another contentless video snippet of

McKibben popped up, this time showing him in Australia. The threat was

clear: wherever he went, his enemies would be recording him. Who

paid for a professional oppo-research team to mock an environmental

activist? The answer is secret. One could argue that the campaign isn’t

substantially different from that of a corporate lobbyist, but, unlike

registered lobbyists, America Rising Squared doesn’t have to file public

disclosures or pay taxes, because it purports to be a social-welfare

organization. McKibben told me, “I

have no fear of debating these people on the issues, but this is just

intimidation.” He added, “It’s bad enough to do this to anyone who runs

for office. But to do it to anyone who dares protest?” Tom

Steyer, the retired hedge-fund billionaire who runs the

environmental-action group NextGen Climate and has been one of the

Democratic Party’s biggest donors, is another target of America Rising

Squared. Corenews.org has featured posts calling Steyer hypocritical,

because he made a fortune investing in fossil fuels. America Rising

Squared has accused him of self-interest in supporting green energy, as

he has substantial investments in solar power. Steyer says that this is

“complete and utter nonsense,” because his investments are held by

trusts and structured in a way that any profits are transferred to

charity. “They have to know they’re lying,” Steyer said. “It’s

completely dishonest, unethical, and pitiful. And it’s creepy.” He says

that the anonymously funded attacks won’t stop him, but he worries that

such campaigns may deter others from engaging in activism. As he puts

it, they “are another reason people are reluctant to get involved in

politics.” It may

be that the shock value of such exposés is diminishing. A recent series

of sting videos against Planned Parenthood, created by a group called

the Center for Medical Progress, involved deceptions so

devious—including an attempt by undercover operatives to buy fetal

tissue—that the campaign backfired. Pro-choice activists united in anger

at the sting’s perpetrators, and a Texas grand jury cleared Planned

Parenthood of wrongdoing and indicted the C.M.P. In Presidential

politics, gaffes may be less damaging. As Brock notes, “In the year of

Trump, people are more inured to the outrageous.” O’Keefe

promises that his covert documentary of the Hillary Clinton campaign

will command attention. But on May 19th he publicly conceded defeat in

the Open Society Foundations investigation. In an interview posted on

Breitbart News, he confessed that he had “been forced to abandon an

ambitious undercover investigation into billionaire left-wing financier

George Soros.” O’Keefe acknowledged that he “forgot to hang up” the

phone, but declined to be more specific about the operation, saying, “I

don’t like to reveal the tactics of what we do.” He apologized to his

supporters and promised that his many other investigations had not been

compromised. “Unfortunately, I’m burned on this particular

investigation,” he said, adding that he was “very disappointed,” because

he believes that the influence of billionaires such as Soros is “the most important topic undermining democracy.” But he concluded, “If I wanted to be perfect, I would give up.” ♦---<header class="entry-header">

<h1 class="entry-title">AR2 About Us</h1> </header>

AR2, an issues-based 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to promoting

conservative issues through cutting-edge research, aims to help shape

the public policy debate across the country.

AR2 is a unique platform for in-depth research, targeted

communications of points of view not now heard in the issues debate, and

long-term projects that can impact public policy. At AR2, we combine

issues research, field research, investigative research, rapid response

to key developments in the issues debate, a “war room” to keep tabs on

developments in that debate, and targeted communications to explain

positions often ignored in the national discussion over key public

policies.

Brian Rogers, Executive Director: Brian Rogers is

Executive Director of America Rising Squared (AR2). Prior to joining

AR2, Rogers served as Communications Director to U.S. Senator John

McCain (R-AZ), and previously served as Deputy Communications Director

and Research Director for McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and held

senior communications and opposition research roles on multiple

statewide campaigns across the country, at the Republican National

Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Jeremy Adler, Communications Director: Jeremy Adler

is Communications Director of America Rising Squared (AR2). He

previously served as a regional press secretary for Marco Rubio’s 2016

presidential campaign. Before that, he worked as a member of America

Rising’s Senate research team and also was a part of Scott Brown’s 2014

New Hampshire Senate campaign.http://www.arsquared.org/issues/scotus/http://www.arsquared.org/issues/liberal-groups/  labor, min wagehttp://www.arsquared.org/issues/domestic-policy/ min wage ACA
http://www.arsquared.org/issues/foreign-policy/  iran bit of syria
==koster hithttp://www.arsquared.org/states/mo/morising/

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 Rhoades brings his comprehensive knowledge of research and communications to all of our clients and staff. Rhoades served as the Campaign Manager for Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. Along with Matt's long history in national politics he was a Vice President at DCI Group.  In his role at DCI Group, he managed corporate client teams assigned to provide advice on media, public relations, legislative and regulatory strategies.  His clients included major players in the private equity, telecommunications and health care industries
http://www.definerscorporation.com/
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</div>Joe
As President of Definers Corp., Pounder brings a wealth of experience in communications, rapid response, and research. He most recently served as a Senior Adviser for Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign, founded America Rising LLC, and...
Joe Pounder
President

Todd Scher
Todd Scher
Research Associate

Todd conducts research services for Definers clients. Prior to joining Definers, he worked as an analyst in the Republican National Committee's research department. Todd was born and raised in New York...

Brian Rogers
Senior Vice President

Brian Rogers brings a wealth of communications and research experience in high-stakes political campaigns and government. He previously served as Communications Director to U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Deputy...
Brian Rogers

Mike conducts research and war room services. Before joining Definers, he was a War Room Analyst at America Rising, LLC. Prior to that, he worked in the War Room at the Republican National Committee....
Mike Presutti
Mike Presutti
Research Associate

Sam’s excellent organization skills and positive attitude keep things running smoothly at Definers Corp. Sam graduated from The University of Arkansas-Monticello and quickly joined America Rising LLC...
Sam Montgomery
Sam Montgomery
Office Manager

Andrew conducts research services for Definers Before joining Definers, Andrew was a War Room Analyst for Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign and a War Room Analyst for America Rising LLC...
Sam Montgomery
Andrew Lautz
Research Associate

Michael Chenderlin
Chief Digital Officer

Michael Chenderlin is a veteran digital strategist most recently playing a key role within Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign where he developed digital campaigns for grassroots activation, voter turnout and volunteer...
Mike Chenderlin

The team at Definers Public Affairs is comprised of leading communications, political and research professionals. Founded by former Romney-Ryan 2012 campaign manager Matt Rhoades and former RNC Research Director Joe Pounder, Definers helps corporations, trade associations, political campaigns and issue-based clients run smarter campaigns using cutting-edge research and communications strategies and tactics.
WHO WE ARE

Jim Barnett’s experience spreads presidential, statewide, local, corporate and issue campaigns. Prior to joining Definers, Barnett served as Vice President for Political Affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s...
Jim Barnett
Chief Operating Officer
Jim Barnett

Julia Cotrone

As a special assistant at Definers Corp, Julia makes sure the trains are running on time and the team is firing on all cylinders. After graduating from The Catholic University of America, she went right to work for Governor Romney's...
Julia Cotrone
Special Assistant

Geoff Embler is a proud military brat born in Japan and raised in South Carolina. Geoff has worked in politics at all levels as a researcher and communicator, from state legislative campaigns, to congressional and Senate...
Geoff Embler
Senior Vice President
Geoff Embler

OUR TEAM
Tim Killeen
Tim Killeen
Senior Vice President

Tim Killeen has a background in research and communications. Previously, he worked for America Rising, the Republican National Committee, high-profile political campaigns, the Washington Free Beacon, and the national...

Will Schenkel
Will Schenkel
War Room Associate

Will provides war room research services to Definers clients. Prior to joining Definers, he fulfilled a similar capacity for other firms and political offices, as well as on numerous campaigns in his native northeast...

Christy Paavola
Vice President

Christy Paavola possesses a diverse set of experiences in research and communications. Prior to joining Definers Corp., Christy was the Research Director for CARLY for America, the Super PAC supporting Carly Fiorina’s presidential bid...
Christy Paavola

Sara started her career as a graphic designer working with political and corporate clients in the DC area straight out of art school. She has used her unique perspective as an in-house creative to help her clients stand out against...
Sara Pietsch
Art Director
Sara Pietsch
Jasmine Sossa
Jasmine Sossa
Graphic Designer

Jasmine Sossa is a graphic designer with a heart that beats for creative and clean aesthetics. She attended Art School and finished with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphic and Web Design. Her love of craft beer landed her...

Nick Zanetti
Nick Zanetti
Research Associate

Nick conducts research and war room services for Definers clients. Before joining Definers, he was Deputy War Room Director at America Rising LLC. Prior to that, he worked in the war room of Ken Cuccinelli’s gubernatorial...

Matt Rhoades
Matt Rhoades
Founder

Matt Rhoades brings his comprehensive knowledge of research and communications to all of our clients and staff.

Rhoades served as the Campaign Manager for Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
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