Open in TheBrain

American Encore

<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore</font></a><div>
</div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no lnx vid, see below</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" /><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">American Encore is a secretive non-profit group (formerly known as the Center to Protect Patient Rights) organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the tax code that funneled more than $182 million in undisclosed donations to right-wing advocacy groups from 2009 to 2012, including Americans for Prosperity and the American Future Fund.[1] The Washington Post described it as a "major cash turnstile for groups on the right during the past two election cycles," because it received large amounts of funding from Freedom Partners and TC4 Trust as part of the $400 million Koch political network.[2] In 2012, the group's role as a part of an $11 million campaign money laundering shell game was revealed after the California Fair Practices Commission filed suit against one of its donors and recipients, Americans for Responsible Leadership.[3]</font></div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Contents</div><div>1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>F.E.C. Fines Former Koch Groups For President Sean Noble's Illegal Activities</div><div>2<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ties to the Koch Brothers</div><div>2.1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>CPPR Involved in Koch Network Dark Money Ring</div><div>3<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Election Activity</div><div>3.1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>2014</div><div>3.1.1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>National Ads Attack Democrats on Healthcare</div><div>3.1.2<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Support for IRS Bill</div><div>3.1.3<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ads Attacks Supporters of Limits on Political Spending by Nonprofits</div><div>3.2<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>California's $11 Million "Campaign Money Laundering" Investigation and Fine</div><div>4<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ties to the Coalition to Protect Patient Rights?</div><div>5<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>History</div><div>6<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Finances</div><div>7<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Grant Recipients</div><div>7.1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>2014</div><div>7.2<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>2013</div><div>7.3<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>2012</div><div>7.4<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>2011</div><div>7.5<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>2010</div><div>7.6<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>2009</div><div>8<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Personnel</div><div>8.1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Staff</div><div>8.2<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Board of Directors</div><div>9<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Contact Information</div><div>10<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Articles and resources</div><div>10.1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Related SourceWatch articles</div><div>10.2<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>References</div><div>F.E.C. Fines Former Koch Groups For President Sean Noble's Illegal Activities</div><div>The F.E.C. fined the 60 Plus Association, Americans for Job Security, and American Future Fund for breaking federal disclosure rules.[4] According to the New York Times,</div><div>
</div><div>"The F.E.C. found that Sean Noble, a political consultant then working with the Kochs, had closely directed the spending of the grants by the other organizations, even picking the races where ads were to be run. That violated federal rules requiring organizations to identity the source of any money earmarked for a political expenditure, the commission determined."[4]</div><div>The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, the organization that filed the complaint which resulted in the fine, reported that the 3 groups will have to pay $233,000 in penalties.[5]</div><div>
</div><div>Koch Wiki</div><div>The Koch brothers -- David and Charles -- are the right-wing billionaire co-owners of Koch Industries. As two of the richest people in the world, they are key funders of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on the Kochs include: Koch Brothers, Koch Industries, Americans for Prosperity, American Encore, and Freedom Partners.</div><div>
</div><div>Ties to the Koch Brothers</div><div>The $400 million Koch network.</div><div>The $400 million Koch network uses a maze of nonprofit groups and LLCs to conceal donations and campaign activity</div><div>Source: Robert Maguire with the Center for Responsive Politics. Matea Gold and Cristina Rivero/The Washington Post.</div><div>In March 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that American Encore was founded by political operative Sean Noble and financed in part by the Koch brothers.[6]</div><div>
</div><div>According to the CPPR's 2009 and 2010 tax filings, the group is run by Sean Noble, who Politico has described as a "Koch operative". [7] Noble was also part of a group of GOP operatives who met regularly with Karl Rove’s American Crossroads to target 120 House of Representatives races in 2010. [7] Noble was hired by the Kochs to coordinate with other conservative Super PACs to target Democratic representatives in 2010. [8] Other individuals associated with the group also have Koch ties. Consultant Cheryl Hillen has raised at least $2.6 million for the organization and was formerly director of fundraising for the Koch Brothers-backed Citizens for a Sound Economy (which later split into Americans for Prosperity and Freedomworks). One of CPPR's original directors, Heather Higgins, is chairwoman of the Independent Women's Forum, a climate change denialist group that has received Koch money and was previously run by a Koch lobbyist.[9]</div><div>
</div><div>CPPR Involved in Koch Network Dark Money Ring</div><div>The Center to Protect Patient Rights CEO Sean Noble is a major Koch agent, and his organization has deep links with the Koch network, according to a 2014 exposé published by ProPublica.[10] The Center was a major intermediary in the hazy patchwork of organizations used to pump money into politics, most notably the 2012 elections, according to ProPublica's research. At the top of the dark money chain of command were Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce and TC4 Trust, who disburse money to Sean Noble at CPPR, but also straight to smaller, politically involved non-profits. ProPublica details another layer of the operation, in which Sean Noble led the way by establishing "disregarded entities" that were attached to the Center, but given their own inconspicuous acronym to make them appear unrelated to the Center. This same strategy was duplicated by other Koch-backed non-profits until about 20 "disregarded entities" were created to make flows of money between organizations like Freedom Partners and CPPR even less comprehensible.[10]</div><div>
</div><div>In the second half of 2011, the Koch network shuffled more than $204 million to the newly established "disregarded entities," and ProPublica tracked $115 million of this from Freedom Partners to one of CPPR's disregarded entities called Corner Table. From there, the money was sent out to the organizations that would ultimately engage in political spending. But with the new strategy in place, it looked as though the money was broadly distributed. Barker and Meyer wrote, "At least 20 nonprofits across the country received at least half of their revenue from the Center, Freedom Partners or both."[10] The reporters also explained the role of CPPR's CEO in the shell game: "Noble helped to run or incorporate no less than three groups named American Commitment at one point or another. One of them got almost 97 percent of its $11.7 million in revenue in 2012 from the Center, Freedom Partners and Americans for Responsible Leadership."[10]</div><div>
</div><div>After reviewing the 2012 FEC filings of recipient organizations, the ProPublica writers concluded that $30 million coming from Freedom Partners and the Center was spent on "political activities" during the 2012 cycle by groups like the American Future Fund, Americans for Responsible Leadership, and American Commitment. Both the Center to Protect Patient Rights and Freedom Partners responded "no" to a question on their 2012 IRS filings that asked if they had spent any money towards political ends.[10]</div><div>
</div><div>Election Activity</div><div>
</div><div>Dark money groups funded by American Encore spent more during the 2012 election cycle than liberal groups and unions have spent since the Citizens United decision.</div><div>Source: OpenSecrets.org</div><div>
</div><div>The Koch network was one of the biggest political operations in 2012 and worked largely outside the campaign finance system, raising at least $407 million. Source: Robert Maguire with the Center for Responsive Politics.</div><div>2014</div><div>In March 2014, CNN reported that American Encore "plans to spend $10 million this midterm cycle against Democrats who have been critical of outside campaign spending"[11] According to the Wall Street Journal, Sean Noble "said the group will highlight any issue it views as "a threat to free enterprise and the free enterprise system,” including the proposed IRS rules and the 2010 health law."[12]</div><div>
</div><div>National Ads Attack Democrats on Healthcare</div><div>
</div><div>Stop Attacking Free Speech</div><div>On May 20, 2014, American Encore announced a national ad campaign, run jointly with a group called American Commitment, targeting Democrats on the topic of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. According to American Encore, the first part of the campaign, "Fix it Fail," "commit[ed] an initial $100,000 to an aggressive paid and earned media effort" related to the law.[13] The ad includes clips of eight Democratic Senators: Mark Begich (D-AK), Al Franken (D-MN), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Mark Warner (D-VA). According to the Washington Times the ad "features the Democratic Senate incumbents insisting the Affordable Care Act can be repaired after its disastrous October roll-out, then shows other top Democrats saying there are no plans for a legislative fix."[14]</div><div>
</div><div>Support for IRS Bill</div><div>The CPPR was one of 60 right-wing groups that signed a February 25, 2014 letter to Congress in support of the Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2014. According to OpenSecrets, the act would "block the IRS for one year from implementing new rules to define and limit political activity by “social welfare” nonprofits."[15] One day later, the group, now under the name "American Encore," also filed a comment together with the Center for Individual Freedom and American Commitment.[15]</div><div>
</div><div>Ads Attacks Supporters of Limits on Political Spending by Nonprofits</div><div>
</div><div>Stop Attacking Free Speech</div><div>American Encore spent $30,000 for an ad released March 31, 2014 attacking Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) on the topic of limits on political activity by nonprofits. The ad accuses Reid of "attacking free speech." According to Politico, the following day Reid "called American Encore one of the Kochs’ 'puppet organizations,' likening it to Americans for Prosperity" and saying, "To any and all groups who wish to attack me on behalf of multibillionaires, fire away … I am very happy, I’m proud to be the target of those attacks. I will gladly endure them in order to call attention to the unscrupulous acts of these two barons."[16] Reid will not be up for re-election until 2016.[11]</div><div>
</div><div>American Encore appeared to be targeting Minnesota Senator Al Franken (D) in his 2014 re-election race. The group spent about $250,000 on a 60-second ad against Franken that began running on March 26, 2014. The Wall Street Journal described the ad as "criticizing Mr. Franken for supporting additional restrictions on tax-exempt issue-advocacy groups" and stated that the ad "derides efforts by the IRS and Senate Democrats to impose new rules on these nonprofits, citing complaints by the American Civil Liberties Union. 'Tell Sen. Franken to stop attacking free speech,' the narrator says."[12]</div><div>
</div><div>California's $11 Million "Campaign Money Laundering" Investigation and Fine</div><div>In 2012, CPPR came under scrutiny during an investigation of a "campaign money laundering"[3] shell game. The Arizona-based 501(c)(4) Americans for Responsible Leadership (ARL) made an $11 million donation to the Small Business Action Committee PAC in California, which spent those funds to oppose Proposition 30 (which would raise taxes on millions) and Proposition 32 (which would prohibit labor unions from raising money for political activities through employees' voluntary payroll deductions).[17] California's elections board did not buy ARL's claim that its donors had given $11 million for reasons other than funding ads to influence these ballot issues and demanded it reveal its funders.[18] ARL spent $11 million on ballot initiatives through a donation of that sum to the Small Business Action Committee PAC (SBAC) in October 2012.[19]</div><div>
</div><div>After initial resistance, ARL revealed that it had received $11 million in contributions for the purpose of funding ballot initiatives from another dark money nonprofit, Americans for Job Security (AJS), a group that received its funding from none other than the CPPR. According to the California Fair Political Practices Commission, "Under California law, the failure to disclose this initially was campaign money laundering." [3]AJS not only gets funding from CPPR, but is housed in the same offices as Karl Rove's American Crossroads SuperPAC.[20]</div><div>
</div><div>While in 2010, CPPR gave $4.8 million to AJS, a sum that was used on anti-Democrat attack ads, in 2012, AJS gave $11 million to CPPR, which gave the money to ARL. ARL then passed the $11 million to the SBAC, indicating that some of the money flow between the organizations has been reversed.[20] The money seems to have moved from one group to another in the span of a few days.[19]</div><div>
</div><div>In a settlement with California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and the Fair Political Practices Commission, the CPPR and Americans for Responsible Leadership agreed to pay a $1 million fine and AJS and SBAC must turn over the $15 million in contributions they received.[21] According to the press release from the Fair Political Practices Commission, "Under California law, the failure to disclose this initially was campaign money laundering. At $11 million, this is the largest contribution ever disclosed as campaign money laundering in California history."[22]</div><div>
</div><div>Sean Noble the head of CPPR argued that the fine was "over-reach", that he followed all laws and that prosecutors violated what he claimed were "First Amendment" right of the donors whose identities he had refused to disclose. Gary Winuk, the FPPC's chief of enforcement, responded: "Sean Noble agreed to and paid a record fine on behalf of the Koch network for a reason. It was the largest amount of undisclosed dark money in the history of California. His vain attempts to try to minimize the case should not serve to give comfort to anyone who tries to hide money in California, because we are prepared to confront them at every turn." [23]</div><div>
</div><div>Ties to the Coalition to Protect Patient Rights?</div><div>The Center to Protect Patient Rights appears to have ties to the similarly-named Coalition to Protect Patient's rights, whose records are stored at the same Glendale, Ariz., address by a woman who describes herself as an employee of DCI Group, a lobbying firm practiced in manufacturing "grassroots" campaigns for the tobacco industry and others that has handled public relations for the Coalition. But the Coalition's spokesman, physician and lawyer, Donald Palmisano, told OpenSecrets Blog in 2011 he'd never heard of CPPR, as did a publicist with DCI Group. [24]</div><div>
</div><div>However, the coalition received nearly $1.6 million from CPPR in 2011, as well as $1.9 million in 2009 and $205,000 in 2010.</div><div>
</div><div>"According to its most recent Form 990, obtained by OpenSecrets Blog, the Coalition paid Mentzer Media $1.4 million in 2011 for "media strategy and ad buy." That expenditure along accounted for nearly all of the Coaltion's spending in 2011, and all of the money it received from CPPR. Though it has never reported any spending on federal candidates to the Federal Election Commission, the Coalition was listed as one of the groups mounting an attack against Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, according to the Huffington Post; Brown won his race." [24]</div><div>
</div><div>History</div><div>Jane Mayer details the founding of the Center to Protect Patient Rights, which would become American Encore in her book Dark Money,</div><div>
</div><div>On April 16, 2009, Noble and (Randy) Kendrick began putting their plan in place when the Center to Protect Patient Rights (CPPR) was incorporated in Maryland. Physically, the organization existed only as a locked, metal mailbox, number 72465, inside the Boulder Hills post office at the edge of a desert road north of Phoenix...The effort was surrounded in such secrecy that when Noble was asked in a 2013 deposition who hired him, he declined to answer, citing confidentiality agreements."[25]</div><div>Finances</div><div>2014[26]</div><div>
</div><div>Total Revenue: $3,154,451</div><div>Total Expenses: $7,895,618</div><div>Net Assets: $3,519,473</div><div>Note: American Encore paid two independent contractors a total of $1,830,146 in consulting fees. JDA Frontline, a PR firm, received $120,347 and Sean Noble's DC London, Inc. received $1,709,799.[26]</div><div>
</div><div>2013[27]</div><div>
</div><div>Total Revenue: $2,240,372</div><div>Total Expenses: $9,038,193</div><div>Net Assets: $8,260,640</div><div>Note: American Encore paid two independent contractors a total of $3,626,031. Legal firm Segal & Kirby was paid $1,501,031 and the consulting firm DC London, run by Sean Noble, received $2,125,000 and was reimbursed an additional $542,719 for "program expenses".[27]</div><div>
</div><div>2012[28]</div><div>
</div><div>Total Revenue: $146,569,081</div><div>Total Expenses: $136,880,651</div><div>Net Assets: $15,058,461</div><div>Note: Although the Center does not pay founder Sean Noble a salary, it paid his firms Noble & Associates $270,149 for management services, Angler LLC $2,824,345, and DC London $4.96 million for management and consulting services plus $15,783,401 to reimburse costs for program expenses. According to a ProPublica report, "What costs DC London could have incurred remain a mystery: The Center’s work mostly consisted of directing grants to other nonprofits, and it doesn’t appear to have offered any programs. (The Center also spent $50,000 on what its tax return described as “occupancy,” a term usually used to mean rent, even though the Center’s lawyer told ProPublica in an email that the group had no office.)...One of the biggest beneficiaries of the Koch network’s money was Sean Noble himself...The Center paid three firms owned by Noble almost $24 million for consulting and other services in 2012—or more than $1 of every $6 it spent."[29]</div><div>
</div><div>2011[30]</div><div>
</div><div>Total Revenue: $23,747,837</div><div>Total Expenses: $21,598,170</div><div>Net Assets: $5,370,031</div><div>Note: Two consulting firms run by Noble, DC London and Noble & Associates, were paid a total of $3.1 million by CPPR.</div><div>
</div><div>2010[31]</div><div>
</div><div>Total Revenue: $61,841,262</div><div>Total Expenses: $60,245,391</div><div>Net Assets: $3,220,364</div><div>2009[32]</div><div>
</div><div>Total Revenue: $13,656,712</div><div>Total Expenses: $12,048,952</div><div>Net Assets: $1,607,760</div><div>In 2009, the Center to Protect Patient Rights took $13.7 million in contributions although its tax return states that it did not engage in fundraising activities, as noted by Bloomberg BusinessWeek in 2012.[33]</div><div>
</div><div>Grant Recipients</div><div>2014</div><div>American Encore reported to the IRS that they gave out a total of $3,675,150 in grants to 9 different organizations in 2014:[34]</div><div>
</div><div>American Commitment: $100,000</div><div>Americans for Prosperity: $40,000</div><div>Veterans for a Strong America: $275,000</div><div>Center for Individual Freedom: $25,000</div><div>Concerned Women for America: $20,000</div><div>Legacy Foundation Action Fund: $880,000</div><div>Prosper Inc.: $220,150</div><div>60 Plus Association: $1,845,000</div><div>Arizona Free Enterprise Club: $450,000[26]</div><div>2013</div><div>American Commitment: $45,000</div><div>Americans for Prosperity: $225,000</div><div>Sixty Plus Association: $529,000</div><div>Hispanic Leadership Fund: $50,000</div><div>Arizona Public Integrity Alliance: $8,000</div><div>Legacy Foundation Action Fund: $25,000</div><div>Prosper Inc.: $1,326,000</div><div>Republican Jewish Coalition: $15,500</div><div>Americans for Responsible Leadership: $2,409,000[27]</div><div>2012</div><div>All Votes Matter: $80,000</div><div>American Catholics for Religious Freedom: $375,000</div><div>American Energy Alliance: $864,960</div><div>American Family Association: $50,000</div><div>American Future Fund: $49,182,409</div><div>American Principles in Action: $100,000</div><div>Americans for Jerusalem: $535,000</div><div>Americans for Job Security: $100,000</div><div>Americans for Limited Government: $1,575,000</div><div>Americans for Prosperity: $11,513,079</div><div>Americans for Responsible Leadership: $24,650, 800</div><div>Americans for Tax Reform: $350,000</div><div>Americans United for Life Action: $65,000</div><div>Arioch Project: $320,000</div><div>Benjamin Rush Foundation: $25,000</div><div>Citizen Link: $4,195,218</div><div>Citizen Media: $156,000</div><div>Citizens Awareness Project: $1,000,000</div><div>Club for Growth: $450,000</div><div>Coalition for American Values Action: $510,000</div><div>Coalition to Protect Patient Rights: $710,000</div><div>Common Sense Issues Inc.: $75,000</div><div>Concerned Women for America: $173,573</div><div>Council for Citizens Against Government Waste: $25,000</div><div>Emergency Committee for Israel: $200,000</div><div>Fair Arizona Independent Redistricting: $150,000</div><div>Freedom Vote: $100,000</div><div>Generation Joshua: $30,000</div><div>GOPAC Education Fund: $121,826</div><div>Hispanic Leadership Fund: $645,000</div><div>Home School Legal Defense Association: $25,000</div><div>Independence Institute: $5,000</div><div>King Street Patriots: $70,000</div><div>Morning in America: $521,500</div><div>National Rifle Association for Legal Action: $3,150,000</div><div>Ohio Voter Integrity Project: $5,000</div><div>Policy and Taxation Group: $88,000</div><div>RightChange.com: $850,000</div><div>60 Plus Association: $2,630,723</div><div>Susan B. Anthony List: $385,000</div><div>Veterans for a Strong America: $937,000</div><div>Heritage Action Fund: $8,000</div><div>American Commitment: $4,781,559</div><div>Generation Opportunity: $29,211</div><div>Republican Jewish Coalition: $20,484</div><div>Vets for Economic Freedom: $32,062</div><div>The Libre Initiative: $152,366</div><div>NFIB: $135,783[28]</div><div>2011</div><div>Free Enterprise America: $3.6 million</div><div>The 60 Plus Association: $2.4 million</div><div>The Coalition to Protect Patient Rights: $1.6 million</div><div>Concerned Women for America: $1.5 million</div><div>Americans for Responsible Leadership: $902,000</div><div>Americans for Job Security: $17,000</div><div>American Commitment: $1.6 million</div><div>American Future Fund: $1.1 million</div><div>Americans for Prosperity: $129,000</div><div>Americans Grassroots Coalition: $17,000</div><div>All Votes Matter: $50,000</div><div>Americans for Job Security: $17,000[30]</div><div>2010</div><div>American Future Fund: $11,685,000</div><div>60 Plus Association: $8,990,000</div><div>Americans for Limited Government: $5,585,000</div><div>Americans for Job Security: $4,828,000</div><div>Americans for Tax Reform: $4,189,000</div><div>Revere America: $2,300,000</div><div>Americans for Prosperity: $1,924,000</div><div>US Health Freedom Coalition: $1,430,000</div><div>Susan B Anthony: $1,025,000</div><div>Club for Growth: $690,000</div><div>Americans United for Life Action: $559,000</div><div>The Institute for Liberty: $457,000</div><div>Noble & Associates: $340,000</div><div>American Energy Alliance: $250,000</div><div>Coalition to Protect Patient Rights: $205,000</div><div>Freedom Vote: $200,000</div><div>Protect Your Vote: $100,000</div><div>Hispanic Leadership Fund: $47,000</div><div>Americans United for Life: $45,000</div><div>Tea Party Patriots: $30,000</div><div>Common Sense Issues Coalition: $25,000</div><div>Common Sense Issues: $10,000</div><div>Concerned Women for America: $4,500[31]</div><div>2009</div><div>According to their 990 tax filings for 2009, the Center to Protect Patient Rights distributed a total of $10,783,500 in grant funding to the following 12 organizations:[35]</div><div>
</div><div>American Future Fund: $1.3 million</div><div>60 Plus Association: $2.6 million</div><div>Coalition to Protect Patient Rights: $1.9 million</div><div>Americans for Prosperity: $2.2 million</div><div>Americans United for Life: $10,000</div><div>Institute for Liberty: $1.5 million</div><div>The 990 filing also notes that the organization gave $190,000 to Noble & Associates, a firm owned by CPPR's CEO Sean Noble.[36]</div><div>
</div><div>Personnel</div><div>As of November 2015:[26]</div><div>
</div><div>Staff</div><div>Sean Noble, President and Treasurer</div><div>Dr. Courtney Kosher, Secretary</div><div>Board of Directors</div><div>Sean Noble, Executive Director</div><div>Dr. Courtney Kosher, Director</div><div>Christopher Ashton, Director</div><div>Contact Information</div><div>American Encore</div><div>PO Box 72465</div><div>Phoenix, AZ 85050</div><div>Phone: (925)-452-7771</div><div>Website: http://americanencore.org</div><div>Email: http://americanencore.org/contact</div><div>Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmericanEncore</div><div>Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanEncore1/</div><div>Articles and resources</div><div>Related SourceWatch articles</div><div>Koch Brothers</div><div>Koch Family Foundations</div><div>Americans for Prosperity</div><div>Freedom Partners</div><div>Cato Institute</div><div>Heritage Foundation</div><div>Koch Universities</div><div>Koch Network</div><div>Knowledge and Progress Fund</div><div>American Encore</div><div>DonorsTrust</div><div>Donors Capital</div><div>60 Plus</div><div>Generation Opportunity</div><div>Americans for Job Security</div><div>Americans for Responsible Leadership</div><div>Soft money</div><div>Karl Rove</div><div>References</div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">===</font></div><div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>American Encore</b>&nbsp;is a secretive non-profit group (formerly known as the&nbsp;<b>Center to Protect Patient Rights</b>) organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the tax code that funneled more than $182 million in undisclosed donations to right-wing advocacy groups from 2009 to 2012, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Future_Fund" title="American Future Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Future Fund</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup>&nbsp;The Washington Post described it as a "major cash turnstile for groups on the right during the past two election cycles," because it received large amounts of funding from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedom_Partners" title="Freedom Partners" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Freedom Partners</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=TC4_Trust" title="TC4 Trust" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">TC4 Trust</a>&nbsp;as part of the $400 million&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_brothers" class="mw-redirect" title="Koch brothers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Koch</a>&nbsp;political network.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup>&nbsp;In 2012, the group's role as a part of an $11 million campaign money laundering shell game was revealed after the California Fair Practices Commission filed suit against one of its donors and recipients,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Responsible_Leadership" title="Americans for Responsible Leadership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Responsible Leadership</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Cali_3-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-Cali-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup></font></p><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="direction: ltr; position: absolute; opacity: 0; z-index: -1; display: none;" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#F.E.C.Fines_Former_Koch_Groups_For_President_Sean_Noble.27s_Illegal_Activities" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">F.E.C. Fines Former Koch Groups For President Sean Noble's Illegal Activities</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Ties_to_the_Koch_Brothers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Ties to the Koch Brothers</span></font></a><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#CPPR_Involved_in_Koch_Network_Dark_Money_Ring" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">CPPR Involved in Koch Network Dark Money Ring</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Election_Activity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Election Activity</span></font></a><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#2014" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">2014</span></font></a><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#National_Ads_Attack_Democrats_on_Healthcare" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.1.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">National Ads Attack Democrats on Healthcare</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Support_for_IRS_Bill" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.1.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Support for IRS Bill</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Ads_Attacks_Supporters_of_Limits_on_Political_Spending_by_Nonprofits" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.1.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Ads Attacks Supporters of Limits on Political Spending by Nonprofits</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#California.27s.2411_Million.22Campaign_Money_Laundering.22_Investigation_and_Fine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">California's $11 Million "Campaign Money Laundering" Investigation and Fine</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Ties_to_the_Coalition_to_Protect_Patient_Rights.3F" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Ties to the Coalition to Protect Patient Rights?</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#History" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">History</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Finances" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Finances</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Grant_Recipients" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Grant Recipients</span></font></a><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#2014_2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">2014</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#2013" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">2013</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">2012</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#2011" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7.4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">2011</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#2010" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7.5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">2010</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#2009" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">7.6</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">2009</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Personnel" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">8</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Personnel</span></font></a><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Staff" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">8.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Staff</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Board_of_Directors" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">8.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Board of Directors</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-23" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Contact_Information" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">9</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Contact Information</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-24" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Articles_and_resources" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">10</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Articles and resources</span></font></a><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-25" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#Related_SourceWatch_articles" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">10.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Related SourceWatch articles</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-26" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">10.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></font></a></li></ul></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="F.E.C.Fines_Former_Koch_Groups_For_President_Sean_Noble's_Illegal_Activities" /><span class="mw-headline" id="F.E.C.Fines_Former_Koch_Groups_For_President_Sean_Noble.27s_Illegal_Activities">F.E.C. Fines Former Koch Groups For President Sean Noble's Illegal Activities</span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The F.E.C. fined the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=60_Plus_Association" title="60 Plus Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">60 Plus Association</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Job_Security" title="Americans for Job Security" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Job Security</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Future_Fund" title="American Future Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Future Fund</a>&nbsp;for breaking federal disclosure rules.<sup id="cite_ref-nyt_4-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-nyt-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup>&nbsp;According to the&nbsp;<i>New York Times</i>,</font></p><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The F.E.C. found that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sean_Noble" title="Sean Noble" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sean Noble</a>, a political consultant then working with the Kochs, had closely directed the spending of the grants by the other organizations, even picking the races where ads were to be run. That violated federal rules requiring organizations to identity the source of any money earmarked for a political expenditure, the commission determined."<sup id="cite_ref-nyt_4-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-nyt-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup></font></dd></dl><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, the organization that filed the complaint which resulted in the fine, reported that the 3 groups will have to pay $233,000 in penalties.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup></font></p><table style="vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);"><tbody><tr><th style="background: rgb(222, 21, 13); border: 1px solid rgb(198, 19, 12); text-align: left; padding: 0.2em 0.4em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Wiki</font></th></tr><tr><td style=""><div style="padding: 2px 5px;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_brothers" class="mw-redirect" title="Koch brothers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Koch brothers</a>&nbsp;--&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_H.Koch" title="David H. Koch" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">David</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Charles_G.Koch" title="Charles G. Koch" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Charles</a>&nbsp;-- are the right-wing billionaire co-owners of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Industries" title="Koch Industries" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Koch Industries</a>. As two of the richest people in the world, they are key funders of the right-wing infrastructure, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Legislative_Exchange_Council" title="American Legislative Exchange Council" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Legislative Exchange Council</a>&nbsp;(ALEC) and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=State_Policy_Network" title="State Policy Network" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">State Policy Network</a>&nbsp;(SPN). In SourceWatch, key articles on the Kochs include:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Brothers" title="Koch Brothers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Koch Brothers</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Industries" title="Koch Industries" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Koch Industries</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>,&nbsp;<a class="mw-selflink selflink" style="text-decoration: inherit; background: none; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold;">American Encore</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedom_Partners" title="Freedom Partners" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Freedom Partners</a>.</font></p></div></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Ties_to_the_Koch_Brothers"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ties to the Koch Brothers</font></span></h2><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 302px;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=File:W-kochnetwork.jpg" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img alt="The $400 million Koch network." src="https://www.sourcewatch.org/images/thumb/d/d6/W-kochnetwork.jpg/300px-W-kochnetwork.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="413" class="thumbimage" srcset="/images/thumb/d/d6/W-kochnetwork.jpg/450px-W-kochnetwork.jpg 1.5x, /images/thumb/d/d6/W-kochnetwork.jpg/600px-W-kochnetwork.jpg 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /></font></a><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=File:W-kochnetwork.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919H1.509z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The $400 million Koch network uses a maze of nonprofit groups and LLCs to conceal donations and campaign activity
<i>Source: Robert Maguire with the Center for Responsive Politics. Matea Gold and Cristina Rivero/The Washington Post.</i></font></div></div></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In March 2014, the&nbsp;<i>Wall Street Journal</i>&nbsp;reported that American Encore was founded by political operative&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sean_Noble" title="Sean Noble" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sean Noble</a>&nbsp;and financed in part by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_brothers" class="mw-redirect" title="Koch brothers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Koch brothers</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to the CPPR's 2009 and 2010 tax filings, the group is run by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sean_Noble" title="Sean Noble" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sean Noble</a>, who Politico has described as a "Koch operative".&nbsp;<sup id="cite_ref-politico_7-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-politico-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a></sup>&nbsp;Noble was also part of a group of GOP operatives who met regularly with Karl Rove’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Crossroads" title="American Crossroads" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Crossroads</a>&nbsp;to target 120 House of Representatives races in 2010.&nbsp;<sup id="cite_ref-politico_7-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-politico-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a></sup>&nbsp;Noble was hired by the Kochs to coordinate with other conservative Super PACs to target Democratic representatives in 2010.&nbsp;<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a></sup>&nbsp;Other individuals associated with the group also have Koch ties. Consultant Cheryl Hillen has raised at least $2.6 million for the organization and was formerly director of fundraising for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Brothers" title="Koch Brothers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Koch Brothers</a>-backed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_a_Sound_Economy" title="Citizens for a Sound Economy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Citizens for a Sound Economy</a>&nbsp;(which later split into&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedomworks" class="mw-redirect" title="Freedomworks" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Freedomworks</a>). One of CPPR's original directors, Heather Higgins, is chairwoman of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independent_Women%27s_Forum" title="Independent Women's Forum" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Independent Women's Forum</a>, a climate change denialist group that has received Koch money and was previously run by a Koch lobbyist.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="CPPR_Involved_in_Koch_Network_Dark_Money_Ring"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CPPR Involved in Koch Network Dark Money Ring</font></span></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Center to Protect Patient Rights CEO Sean Noble is a major Koch agent, and his organization has deep links with the Koch network, according to a 2014 exposé published by&nbsp;<i>ProPublica</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-pro_10-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-pro-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup>&nbsp;The Center was a major intermediary in the hazy patchwork of organizations used to pump money into politics, most notably the 2012 elections, according to&nbsp;<i>ProPublica'</i>s research. At the top of the dark money chain of command were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedom_Partners_Chamber_of_Commerce&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=TC4_Trust" title="TC4 Trust" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">TC4 Trust</a>, who disburse money to Sean Noble at CPPR, but also straight to smaller, politically involved non-profits.&nbsp;<i>ProPublica</i>&nbsp;details another layer of the operation, in which Sean Noble led the way by establishing "disregarded entities" that were attached to the Center, but given their own inconspicuous acronym to make them appear unrelated to the Center. This same strategy was duplicated by other Koch-backed non-profits until about 20 "disregarded entities" were created to make flows of money between organizations like Freedom Partners and CPPR even less comprehensible.<sup id="cite_ref-pro_10-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-pro-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the second half of 2011, the Koch network shuffled more than $204 million to the newly established "disregarded entities," and&nbsp;<i>ProPublica</i>&nbsp;tracked $115 million of this from Freedom Partners to one of CPPR's disregarded entities called Corner Table. From there, the money was sent out to the organizations that would ultimately engage in political spending. But with the new strategy in place, it looked as though the money was broadly distributed. Barker and Meyer wrote, "At least 20 nonprofits across the country received at least half of their revenue from the Center, Freedom Partners or both."<sup id="cite_ref-pro_10-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-pro-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup>&nbsp;The reporters also explained the role of CPPR's CEO in the shell game: "Noble helped to run or incorporate no less than three groups named American Commitment at one point or another. One of them got almost 97 percent of its $11.7 million in revenue in 2012 from the Center, Freedom Partners and Americans for Responsible Leadership."<sup id="cite_ref-pro_10-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-pro-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After reviewing the 2012 FEC filings of recipient organizations, the&nbsp;<i>ProPublica</i>&nbsp;writers concluded that $30 million coming from Freedom Partners and the Center was spent on "political activities" during the 2012 cycle by groups like the American Future Fund, Americans for Responsible Leadership, and American Commitment. Both the Center to Protect Patient Rights and Freedom Partners responded "no" to a question on their 2012 IRS filings that asked if they had spent any money towards political ends.<sup id="cite_ref-pro_10-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-pro-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Election_Activity"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Election Activity</font></span></h2><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 302px;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=File:American_Encore_Spending.png" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img alt="" src="https://www.sourcewatch.org/images/thumb/9/93/American_Encore_Spending.png/300px-American_Encore_Spending.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="164" class="thumbimage" srcset="/images/thumb/9/93/American_Encore_Spending.png/450px-American_Encore_Spending.png 1.5x, /images/thumb/9/93/American_Encore_Spending.png/600px-American_Encore_Spending.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /></font></a><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=File:American_Encore_Spending.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919H1.509z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dark money groups funded by American Encore spent more during the 2012 election cycle than liberal groups and unions have spent since the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_United_v.
Federal_Election_Commission" title="Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Citizens United</a>&nbsp;decision.
<i>Source: OpenSecrets.org</i></font></div></div></div><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 502px;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=File:A_Maze_of_Money.png" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img alt="" src="https://www.sourcewatch.org/images/thumb/5/5d/A_Maze_of_Money.png/500px-A_Maze_of_Money.png" decoding="async" width="500" height="458" class="thumbimage" srcset="/images/thumb/5/5d/A_Maze_of_Money.png/750px-A_Maze_of_Money.png 1.5x, /images/thumb/5/5d/A_Maze_of_Money.png/1000px-A_Maze_of_Money.png 2x" style="border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /></font></a><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=File:A_Maze_of_Money.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919H1.509z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Koch network was one of the biggest political operations in 2012 and worked largely outside the campaign finance system, raising at least $407 million.&nbsp;<i>Source: Robert Maguire with the Center for Responsive Politics.</i></font></div></div></div><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="2014"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2014</font></span></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In March 2014, CNN reported that American Encore "plans to spend $10 million this midterm cycle against Democrats who have been critical of outside campaign spending"<sup id="cite_ref-hamby_11-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-hamby-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a></sup>&nbsp;According to the Wall Street Journal, Sean Noble "said the group will highlight any issue it views as "a threat to free enterprise and the free enterprise system,” including the proposed IRS rules and the 2010 health law."<sup id="cite_ref-franken_draws_12-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-franken_draws-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a></sup></font></p><h4 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="National_Ads_Attack_Democrats_on_Healthcare"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Ads Attack Democrats on Healthcare</font></span></h4><div class="embedvideo thumb ev_left autoResize" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); clear: left; float: left; padding: 10px !important;"><div class="embedvideowrap thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 250px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></div><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stop Attacking Free Speech</font></div></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On May 20, 2014, American Encore announced a national ad campaign, run jointly with a group called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Commitment" title="American Commitment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Commitment</a>, targeting Democrats on the topic of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=PPACA" title="PPACA" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">the 2010 Affordable Care Act</a>. According to American Encore, the first part of the campaign, "Fix it Fail," "commit[ed] an initial $100,000 to an aggressive paid and earned media effort" related to the law.<sup id="cite_ref-fix_it_13-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-fix_it-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a></sup>&nbsp;The ad includes clips of eight Democratic Senators: Mark Begich (D-AK), Al Franken (D-MN), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Mark Warner (D-VA). According to the&nbsp;<i>Washington Times</i>&nbsp;the ad "features the Democratic Senate incumbents insisting the Affordable Care Act can be repaired after its disastrous October roll-out, then shows other top Democrats saying there are no plans for a legislative fix."<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a></sup></font></p><h4 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Support_for_IRS_Bill"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Support for IRS Bill</font></span></h4><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The CPPR was one of 60 right-wing groups that signed a February 25, 2014 letter to Congress in support of the Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2014. According to OpenSecrets, the act would "block the IRS for one year from implementing new rules to define and limit political activity by “social welfare” nonprofits."<sup id="cite_ref-encore_for_center_15-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-encore_for_center-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a></sup>&nbsp;One day later, the group, now under the name "American Encore," also filed a comment together with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Individual_Freedom" title="Center for Individual Freedom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center for Individual Freedom</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Commitment" title="American Commitment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Commitment</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-encore_for_center_15-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-encore_for_center-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a></sup></font></p><h4 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Ads_Attacks_Supporters_of_Limits_on_Political_Spending_by_Nonprofits"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ads Attacks Supporters of Limits on Political Spending by Nonprofits</font></span></h4><div class="embedvideo thumb ev_right autoResize" style="margin-bottom: 0.5em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); clear: right; float: right; padding: 10px !important;"><div class="embedvideowrap thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 250px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /></div></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Encore spent $30,000 for an ad released March 31, 2014 attacking Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) on the topic of limits on political activity by nonprofits. The ad accuses Reid of "attacking free speech." According to Politico, the following day Reid "called American Encore one of the Kochs’ 'puppet organizations,' likening it to Americans for Prosperity" and saying, "To any and all groups who wish to attack me on behalf of multibillionaires, fire away … I am very happy, I’m proud to be the target of those attacks. I will gladly endure them in order to call attention to the unscrupulous acts of these two barons."<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a></sup>&nbsp;Reid will not be up for re-election until 2016.<sup id="cite_ref-hamby_11-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-hamby-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Encore appeared to be targeting Minnesota Senator Al Franken (D) in his 2014 re-election race. The group spent about $250,000 on a 60-second ad against Franken that began running on March 26, 2014. The&nbsp;<i>Wall Street Journal</i>&nbsp;described the ad as "criticizing Mr. Franken for supporting additional restrictions on tax-exempt issue-advocacy groups" and stated that the ad "derides efforts by the IRS and Senate Democrats to impose new rules on these nonprofits, citing complaints by the American Civil Liberties Union. 'Tell Sen. Franken to stop attacking free speech,' the narrator says."<sup id="cite_ref-franken_draws_12-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-franken_draws-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="California's$11_Million"Campaign_Money_Laundering"Investigation_and_Fine" /><span class="mw-headline" id="California.27s.2411_Million.22Campaign_Money_Laundering.22_Investigation_and_Fine">California's $11 Million "Campaign Money Laundering" Investigation and Fine</span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2012, CPPR came under scrutiny during an investigation of a "campaign money laundering"<sup id="cite_ref-Cali_3-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-Cali-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup>&nbsp;shell game. The Arizona-based 501(c)(4)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Responsible_Leadership" title="Americans for Responsible Leadership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Responsible Leadership</a>&nbsp;(ARL) made an $11 million donation to the Small Business Action Committee PAC in California, which spent those funds to oppose Proposition 30 (which would raise taxes on millions) and Proposition 32 (which would prohibit labor unions from raising money for political activities through employees' voluntary payroll deductions).<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a></sup>&nbsp;California's elections board did not buy ARL's claim that its donors had given $11 million for reasons other than funding ads to influence these ballot issues and demanded it reveal its funders.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[18]</a></sup>&nbsp;ARL spent $11 million on ballot initiatives through a donation of that sum to the Small Business Action Committee PAC (SBAC) in October 2012.<sup id="cite_ref-LA_19-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-LA-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After initial resistance, ARL revealed that it had received $11 million in contributions for the purpose of funding ballot initiatives from another dark money nonprofit,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Job_Security" title="Americans for Job Security" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Job Security</a>&nbsp;(AJS), a group that received its funding from none other than the CPPR. According to the California Fair Political Practices Commission, "Under California law, the failure to disclose this initially was campaign money laundering."&nbsp;<sup id="cite_ref-Cali_3-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-Cali-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup>AJS not only gets funding from CPPR, but is housed in the same offices as Karl Rove's American Crossroads SuperPAC.<sup id="cite_ref-PRWatch_20-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-PRWatch-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While in 2010, CPPR gave $4.8 million to AJS, a sum that was used on anti-Democrat attack ads, in 2012, AJS gave $11 million to CPPR, which gave the money to ARL. ARL then passed the $11 million to the SBAC, indicating that some of the money flow between the organizations has been reversed.<sup id="cite_ref-PRWatch_20-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-PRWatch-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a></sup>&nbsp;The money seems to have moved from one group to another in the span of a few days.<sup id="cite_ref-LA_19-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-LA-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a settlement with California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and the Fair Political Practices Commission, the CPPR and Americans for Responsible Leadership agreed to pay a $1 million fine and AJS and SBAC must turn over the $15 million in contributions they received.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a></sup>&nbsp;According to the press release from the Fair Political Practices Commission, "Under California law, the failure to disclose this initially was campaign money laundering. At $11 million, this is the largest contribution ever disclosed as campaign money laundering in California history."<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sean Noble the head of CPPR argued that the fine was "over-reach", that he followed all laws and that prosecutors violated what he claimed were "First Amendment" right of the donors whose identities he had refused to disclose. Gary Winuk, the FPPC's chief of enforcement, responded: "Sean Noble agreed to and paid a record fine on behalf of the Koch network for a reason. It was the largest amount of undisclosed dark money in the history of California. His vain attempts to try to minimize the case should not serve to give comfort to anyone who tries to hide money in California, because we are prepared to confront them at every turn."&nbsp;<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span id="Ties_to_the_Coalition_to_Protect_Patient_Rights?" /><span class="mw-headline" id="Ties_to_the_Coalition_to_Protect_Patient_Rights.3F">Ties to the Coalition to Protect Patient Rights?</span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Center to Protect Patient Rights appears to have ties to the similarly-named Coalition to Protect Patient's rights, whose records are stored at the same Glendale, Ariz., address by a woman who describes herself as an employee of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=DCI_Group" title="DCI Group" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">DCI Group</a>, a lobbying firm practiced in manufacturing "grassroots" campaigns for the tobacco industry and others that has handled public relations for the Coalition. But the Coalition's spokesman, physician and lawyer, Donald Palmisano, told OpenSecrets Blog in 2011 he'd never heard of CPPR, as did a publicist with DCI Group.&nbsp;<sup id="cite_ref-open_secrets_24-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-open_secrets-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">However, the coalition received nearly $1.6 million from CPPR in 2011, as well as $1.9 million in 2009 and $205,000 in 2010.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"According to its most recent Form 990, obtained by OpenSecrets Blog, the Coalition paid Mentzer Media $1.4 million in 2011 for "media strategy and ad buy." That expenditure along accounted for nearly all of the Coaltion's spending in 2011, and all of the money it received from CPPR. Though it has never reported any spending on federal candidates to the Federal Election Commission, the Coalition was listed as one of the groups mounting an attack against Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, according to the Huffington Post; Brown won his race."&nbsp;<sup id="cite_ref-open_secrets_24-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-open_secrets-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="History"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">History</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jane Mayer details the founding of the Center to Protect Patient Rights, which would become American Encore in her book&nbsp;<i>Dark Money</i>,</font></p><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><dd style="margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On April 16, 2009, Noble and (Randy) Kendrick began putting their plan in place when the Center to Protect Patient Rights (CPPR) was incorporated in Maryland. Physically, the organization existed only as a locked, metal mailbox, number 72465, inside the Boulder Hills post office at the edge of a desert road north of Phoenix...The effort was surrounded in such secrecy that when Noble was asked in a 2013 deposition who hired him, he declined to answer, citing confidentiality agreements."<sup id="cite_ref-dm_25-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-dm-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a></sup></font></dd></dl><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Finances"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Finances</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><big>2014</big></b><sup id="cite_ref-2014_990_26-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2014_990-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a></sup></font></p><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Revenue: $3,154,451</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Expenses: $7,895,618</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Net Assets: $3,519,473</font></li></ul><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Note: American Encore paid two independent contractors a total of $1,830,146 in consulting fees. JDA Frontline, a PR firm, received $120,347 and Sean Noble's DC London, Inc. received $1,709,799.<sup id="cite_ref-2014_990_26-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2014_990-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><big>2013</big></b><sup id="cite_ref-2013_990_27-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2013_990-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a></sup></font></p><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Revenue: $2,240,372</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Expenses: $9,038,193</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Net Assets: $8,260,640</font></li></ul><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Note: American Encore paid two independent contractors a total of $3,626,031. Legal firm Segal & Kirby was paid $1,501,031 and the consulting firm DC London, run by Sean Noble, received $2,125,000 and was reimbursed an additional $542,719 for "program expenses".<sup id="cite_ref-2013_990_27-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2013_990-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><big>2012</big></b><sup id="cite_ref-2012_990_28-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2012_990-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a></sup></font></p><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Revenue: $146,569,081</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Expenses: $136,880,651</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Net Assets: $15,058,461</font></li></ul><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Note: Although the Center does not pay founder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sean_Noble" title="Sean Noble" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sean Noble</a>&nbsp;a salary, it paid his firms Noble & Associates $270,149 for management services, Angler LLC $2,824,345, and DC London $4.96 million for management and consulting services plus $15,783,401 to reimburse costs for program expenses. According to a ProPublica report, "What costs DC London could have incurred remain a mystery: The Center’s work mostly consisted of directing grants to other nonprofits, and it doesn’t appear to have offered any programs. (The Center also spent $50,000 on what its tax return described as “occupancy,” a term usually used to mean rent, even though the Center’s lawyer told ProPublica in an email that the group had no office.)...One of the biggest beneficiaries of the Koch network’s money was Sean Noble himself...The Center paid three firms owned by Noble almost $24 million for consulting and other services in 2012—or more than $1 of every $6 it spent."<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><big>2011</big></b><sup id="cite_ref-2011_990_30-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2011_990-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a></sup></font></p><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Revenue: $23,747,837</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Expenses: $21,598,170</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Net Assets: $5,370,031</font></li></ul><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Note: Two consulting firms run by Noble, DC London and Noble & Associates, were paid a total of $3.1 million by CPPR.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><big>2010</big></b><sup id="cite_ref-2010_990_31-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2010_990-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[31]</a></sup></font></p><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Revenue: $61,841,262</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Expenses: $60,245,391</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Net Assets: $3,220,364</font></li></ul><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><big>2009</big></b><sup id="cite_ref-2009_990_32-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2009_990-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a></sup></font></p><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Revenue: $13,656,712</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Expenses: $12,048,952</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Net Assets: $1,607,760</font></li></ul><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2009, the Center to Protect Patient Rights took $13.7 million in contributions although its tax return states that it did not engage in fundraising activities, as noted by&nbsp;<i>Bloomberg BusinessWeek</i>&nbsp;in 2012.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Grant_Recipients"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Grant Recipients</font></span></h2><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="2014_2"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2014</font></span></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Encore reported to the IRS that they gave out a total of $3,675,150 in grants to 9 different organizations in 2014:<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a></sup></font></p><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Commitment" title="American Commitment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Commitment</a>: $100,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>: $40,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Veterans_for_a_Strong_America&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Veterans for a Strong America (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Veterans for a Strong America</a>: $275,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Individual_Freedom" title="Center for Individual Freedom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center for Individual Freedom</a>: $25,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Concerned_Women_for_America" title="Concerned Women for America" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Concerned Women for America</a>: $20,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Legacy Foundation Action Fund: $880,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Prosper Inc.: $220,150</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=60_Plus_Association" title="60 Plus Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">60 Plus Association</a>: $1,845,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Arizona Free Enterprise Club: $450,000<sup id="cite_ref-2014_990_26-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2014_990-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a></sup></font></li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="2013"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2013</font></span></h3><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Commitment" title="American Commitment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Commitment</a>: $45,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>: $225,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=60-Plus_Association" class="mw-redirect" title="60-Plus Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sixty Plus Association</a>: $529,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hispanic_Leadership_Fund&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Hispanic Leadership Fund (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Hispanic Leadership Fund</a>: $50,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Arizona_Public_Integrity_Alliance&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Arizona Public Integrity Alliance (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Arizona Public Integrity Alliance</a>: $8,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Legacy_Foundation_Action_Fund&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Legacy Foundation Action Fund (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Legacy Foundation Action Fund</a>: $25,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Prosper_Inc.&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Prosper Inc. (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Prosper Inc.</a>: $1,326,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Republican_Jewish_Coalition" title="Republican Jewish Coalition" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Republican Jewish Coalition</a>: $15,500</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Responsible_Leadership" title="Americans for Responsible Leadership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Responsible Leadership</a>: $2,409,000<sup id="cite_ref-2013_990_27-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2013_990-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a></sup></font></li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="2012"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2012</font></span></h3><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=All_Votes_Matter&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="All Votes Matter (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">All Votes Matter</a>: $80,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Catholics_for_Religious_Freedom&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="American Catholics for Religious Freedom (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Catholics for Religious Freedom</a>: $375,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Energy_Alliance" title="American Energy Alliance" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Energy Alliance</a>: $864,960</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Family_Association" title="American Family Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Family Association</a>: $50,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Future_Fund" title="American Future Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Future Fund</a>: $49,182,409</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Principles_in_Action&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="American Principles in Action (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Principles in Action</a>: $100,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Jerusalem&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Americans for Jerusalem (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Jerusalem</a>: $535,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Job_Security" title="Americans for Job Security" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Job Security</a>: $100,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Limited_Government" title="Americans for Limited Government" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Limited Government</a>: $1,575,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>: $11,513,079</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Responsible_Leadership" title="Americans for Responsible Leadership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Responsible Leadership</a>: $24,650, 800</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Tax_Reform" title="Americans for Tax Reform" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Tax Reform</a>: $350,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_United_for_Life&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Americans United for Life (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans United for Life</a>&nbsp;Action: $65,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Arioch_Project&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Arioch Project (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Arioch Project</a>: $320,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Benjamin_Rush_Foundation&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Benjamin Rush Foundation (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Benjamin Rush Foundation</a>: $25,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizen_Link&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Citizen Link (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Citizen Link</a>: $4,195,218</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizen_Media&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Citizen Media (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Citizen Media</a>: $156,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_Awareness_Project&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Citizens Awareness Project (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Citizens Awareness Project</a>: $1,000,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth" title="Club for Growth" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Club for Growth</a>: $450,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Coalition_for_American_Values" title="Coalition for American Values" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Coalition for American Values</a>&nbsp;Action: $510,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Coalition_to_Protect_Patient_Rights&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Coalition to Protect Patient Rights (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Coalition to Protect Patient Rights</a>: $710,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Common_Sense_Issues_Inc." title="Common Sense Issues Inc." style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Common Sense Issues Inc.</a>: $75,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Concerned_Women_for_America" title="Concerned Women for America" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Concerned Women for America</a>: $173,573</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_for_Citizens_Against_Government_Waste" title="Council for Citizens Against Government Waste" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Council for Citizens Against Government Waste</a>: $25,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Emergency_Committee_for_Israel" title="Emergency Committee for Israel" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Emergency Committee for Israel</a>: $200,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fair_Arizona_Independent_Redistricting&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Fair Arizona Independent Redistricting (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Fair Arizona Independent Redistricting</a>: $150,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedom_Vote&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Freedom Vote (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Freedom Vote</a>: $100,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Generation_Joshua&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Generation Joshua (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Generation Joshua</a>: $30,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=GOPAC_Education_Fund&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="GOPAC Education Fund (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">GOPAC Education Fund</a>: $121,826</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hispanic_Leadership_Fund&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Hispanic Leadership Fund (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Hispanic Leadership Fund</a>: $645,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Home_School_Legal_Defense_Association" title="Home School Legal Defense Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Home School Legal Defense Association</a>: $25,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Independence_Institute" title="Independence Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Independence Institute</a>: $5,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=King_Street_Patriots&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="King Street Patriots (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">King Street Patriots</a>: $70,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Morning_in_America&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Morning in America (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Morning in America</a>: $521,500</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Rifle_Association_for_Legal_Action&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="National Rifle Association for Legal Action (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">National Rifle Association for Legal Action</a>: $3,150,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ohio_Voter_Integrity_Project&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Ohio Voter Integrity Project (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ohio Voter Integrity Project</a>: $5,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Policy_and_Taxation_Group&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Policy and Taxation Group (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Policy and Taxation Group</a>: $88,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=RightChange.com" title="RightChange.com" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">RightChange.com</a>: $850,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=60_Plus_Association" title="60 Plus Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">60 Plus Association</a>: $2,630,723</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Susan_B.Anthony_List" title="Susan B. Anthony List" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Susan B. Anthony List</a>: $385,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Veterans_for_a_Strong_America&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Veterans for a Strong America (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Veterans for a Strong America</a>: $937,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heritage_Action_Fund&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Heritage Action Fund (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Heritage Action Fund</a>: $8,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Commitment" title="American Commitment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Commitment</a>: $4,781,559</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Generation_Opportunity" title="Generation Opportunity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Generation Opportunity</a>: $29,211</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Republican_Jewish_Coalition" title="Republican Jewish Coalition" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Republican Jewish Coalition</a>: $20,484</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Concerned_Veterans_for_America" title="Concerned Veterans for America" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vets for Economic Freedom</a>: $32,062</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_Libre_Initiative" title="The Libre Initiative" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Libre Initiative</a>: $152,366</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=NFIB" class="mw-redirect" title="NFIB" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">NFIB</a>: $135,783<sup id="cite_ref-2012_990_28-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2012_990-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a></sup></font></li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="2011"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2011</font></span></h3><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Free Enterprise America: $3.6 million</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=60_Plus_Association" title="60 Plus Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">60 Plus Association</a>: $2.4 million</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Coalition to Protect Patient Rights: $1.6 million</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Concerned_Women_for_America" title="Concerned Women for America" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Concerned Women for America</a>: $1.5 million</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Americans for Responsible Leadership: $902,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Job_Security" title="Americans for Job Security" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Job Security</a>: $17,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Commitment" title="American Commitment" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Commitment</a>: $1.6 million</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Future_Fund" title="American Future Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Future Fund</a>: $1.1 million</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>: $129,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Americans Grassroots Coalition: $17,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">All Votes Matter: $50,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Job_Security" title="Americans for Job Security" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Job Security</a>: $17,000<sup id="cite_ref-2011_990_30-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2011_990-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a></sup></font></li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="2010"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2010</font></span></h3><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Future_Fund" title="American Future Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Future Fund</a>: $11,685,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=60_Plus_Association" title="60 Plus Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">60 Plus Association</a>: $8,990,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Limited_Government" title="Americans for Limited Government" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Limited Government</a>: $5,585,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Job_Security" title="Americans for Job Security" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Job Security</a>: $4,828,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Tax_Reform" title="Americans for Tax Reform" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Tax Reform</a>: $4,189,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Revere_America" title="Revere America" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Revere America</a>: $2,300,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>: $1,924,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">US Health Freedom Coalition: $1,430,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Susan B Anthony: $1,025,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth" title="Club for Growth" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Club for Growth</a>: $690,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Americans United for Life Action: $559,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Institute for Liberty: $457,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Noble_%26_Associates" class="mw-redirect" title="Noble & Associates" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Noble & Associates</a>: $340,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Energy_Alliance" title="American Energy Alliance" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Energy Alliance</a>: $250,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coalition to Protect Patient Rights: $205,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Freedom Vote: $200,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protect Your Vote: $100,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hispanic Leadership Fund: $47,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Americans United for Life: $45,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tea_Party_Patriots" title="Tea Party Patriots" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Tea Party Patriots</a>: $30,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Common Sense Issues Coalition: $25,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Common Sense Issues: $10,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Concerned_Women_for_America" title="Concerned Women for America" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Concerned Women for America</a>: $4,500<sup id="cite_ref-2010_990_31-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2010_990-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[31]</a></sup></font></li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="2009"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2009</font></span></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to their 990 tax filings for 2009, the Center to Protect Patient Rights distributed a total of $10,783,500 in grant funding to the following 12 organizations:<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a></sup></font></p><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Future_Fund" title="American Future Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Future Fund</a>: $1.3 million</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=60_Plus_Association" title="60 Plus Association" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">60 Plus Association</a>: $2.6 million</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coalition to Protect Patient Rights: $1.9 million</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Americans for Prosperity</a>: $2.2 million</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Americans United for Life: $10,000</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Institute_for_Liberty" title="Institute for Liberty" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Institute for Liberty</a>: $1.5 million</font></li></ul><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The 990 filing also notes that the organization gave $190,000 to Noble & Associates, a firm owned by CPPR's CEO Sean Noble.<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[36]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Personnel"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Personnel</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As of November 2015:<sup id="cite_ref-2014_990_26-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Encore#cite_note-2014_990-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Staff"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Staff</font></span></h3><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sean_Noble" title="Sean Noble" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sean Noble</a>, President and Treasurer</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dr. Courtney Kosher, Secretary</font></li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Board_of_Directors"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Board of Directors</font></span></h3><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sean_Noble" title="Sean Noble" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sean Noble</a>, Executive Director</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dr. Courtney Kosher, Director</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Christopher Ashton, Director</font></li></ul><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Contact_Information"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contact Information</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Encore
PO Box 72465
Phoenix, AZ 85050
Phone: (925)-452-7771
Website:&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://americanencore.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%2212%22 height=%2212%22%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%2336c%22 d=%22M1.5 4.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22/%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%2336c%22 d=%22M5.765 1H11v5.39L9.427 7.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393 9.35l-2.69-2.688 2.81-2.808L4.2 2.544z%22/%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%23fff%22 d=%22M9.995 2.004l.022 4.885L8.2 5.07 5.32 7.95 4.09 6.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); padding-right: 13px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">http://americanencore.org</a>
Email:&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://americanencore.org/contact" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%2212%22 height=%2212%22%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%2336c%22 d=%22M1.5 4.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22/%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%2336c%22 d=%22M5.765 1H11v5.39L9.427 7.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393 9.35l-2.69-2.688 2.81-2.808L4.2 2.544z%22/%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%23fff%22 d=%22M9.995 2.004l.022 4.885L8.2 5.07 5.32 7.95 4.09 6.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); padding-right: 13px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">http://americanencore.org/contact</a>
Twitter:&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://twitter.com/AmericanEncore" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%2212%22 height=%2212%22%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%2336c%22 d=%22M1.5 4.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22/%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%2336c%22 d=%22M5.765 1H11v5.39L9.427 7.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393 9.35l-2.69-2.688 2.81-2.808L4.2 2.544z%22/%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%23fff%22 d=%22M9.995 2.004l.022 4.885L8.2 5.07 5.32 7.95 4.09 6.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); padding-right: 13px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">https://twitter.com/AmericanEncore</a>
Facebook:&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.facebook.com/AmericanEncore1/" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%2212%22 height=%2212%22%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%2336c%22 d=%22M1.5 4.518h5.982V10.5H1.5z%22/%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%2336c%22 d=%22M5.765 1H11v5.39L9.427 7.937l-1.31-1.31L5.393 9.35l-2.69-2.688 2.81-2.808L4.2 2.544z%22/%3E %3Cpath fill=%22%23fff%22 d=%22M9.995 2.004l.022 4.885L8.2 5.07 5.32 7.95 4.09 6.723l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); padding-right: 13px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">https://www.facebook.com/AmericanEncore1/</a>
</font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Articles_and_resources"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Articles and resources</font></span></h2><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Related_SourceWatch_articles"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Related SourceWatch articles</font></span></h3><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%23222%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Brothers" title="Koch Brothers" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Koch Brothers</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Family_Foundations" title="Koch Family Foundations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Koch Family Foundations</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="Americans for Prosperity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Americans for Prosperity</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedom_Partners" title="Freedom Partners" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Freedom Partners</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Cato_Institute" title="Cato Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Cato Institute</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heritage_Foundation" title="Heritage Foundation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Heritage Foundation</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Universities" title="Koch Universities" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Koch Universities</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Network" title="Koch Network" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Koch Network</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Knowledge_and_Progress_Fund" title="Knowledge and Progress Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Knowledge and Progress Fund</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a class="mw-selflink selflink" style="text-decoration: inherit; background: none; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">American Encore</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=DonorsTrust" title="DonorsTrust" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">DonorsTrust</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Donors_Capital" class="mw-redirect" title="Donors Capital" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Donors Capital</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=60_Plus" class="mw-redirect" title="60 Plus" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">60 Plus</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Generation_Opportunity" title="Generation Opportunity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Generation Opportunity</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Job_Security" title="Americans for Job Security" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Americans for Job Security</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Responsible_Leadership" title="Americans for Responsible Leadership" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Americans for Responsible Leadership</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Soft_money" title="Soft money" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Soft money</font></a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Karl_Rove" title="Karl Rove" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Karl Rove</font></a></li></ul><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;"><span class="mw-headline" id="References" style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">References</font></span></h3></div>