Conservative Political Operatives Raised $89 Million. Where Did the Money Go?

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Over the last nine years, five nonprofits with names like American Veterans Honor Fund and American Police Officers Alliance — which purport to raise funds to build political support for police, firefighters and veterans — have become some of the nation’s biggest sources of robocalls. That’s according to a new New York Times investigation which found that of the $89 million the nonprofits received, virtually all went back to fundraising and paying the groups’ operatives. We’ll hear about the scheme and how lax oversight and gaps in the federal campaign finance system may have enabled it. Guests: David Fahrenthold, investigative reporter, New York Times. Fahrenthold focuses on nonprofits, and his most recent New York Times piece is titled "How to Raise $89 Million in Small Donations, and Make It Disappear." He previously reported for the Washington Post where he won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for his political campaign coverage and investigative reporting on Donald Trump's claims of donations to charities. Ellen Aprill, law professor emerita, Loyola Law School. Aprill is an expert in nonprofit and tax-exempt organization law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for KQBD Podcasts comes from Rancho LaPuerta, a wellness resort 45 minutes outside of San Diego.
0:07.6	Summer packages include fitness and mindfulness classes, hiking, live music, and culinary adventures featuring fresh fruits and veggies.
0:16.3	Rancho LePuerta.com.
0:18.0	Switch to Comcast Business Mobile and save hundreds a year in your wireless bill.
0:22.1	Comcast Business, powering possibilities.
0:24.6	Restrictions apply.
0:25.4	Comcast Business Internet required.
0:26.7	Comparse two unlimited intro lines and lowest price 5D plans of top three carriers.
0:29.7	Tax on fees extra, reduce speeds after 30 gigabytes of usage.
0:32.0	Data thresholds may vary.
0:34.4	From KQED.
0:51.4	The From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Grace Juan in Fermina Kim.
0:55.6	Coming up on forum, the National Police Support Fund, the American Veterans Honor Fund.
1:00.8	These names might sound familiar if you've ever answered a fundraising robocall.
1:04.9	They're among five conservative political nonprofits the New York Times has investigated for raising nearly $90 million, almost all of which
1:12.7	they plowed back into fundraising and paying themselves. The Times, David Farenthold, tells us more about
1:18.1	the scheme and how lax federal oversight and gaps in the campaign finance system may have
1:22.7	enabled it. That's next on Forum after this news.
1:41.4	Welcome to Forum. I'm Grace Wan in fromina Kim.
1:45.9	The Robocall is one of the bains of modern life. Given the links that many of us go to to avoid robocalls, it's hard to believe that it's actually a lucrative way
1:50.9	to raise money. But robocalling is exactly how a group of conservative consultants were able to raise
1:56.4	$89 million. They claim the money would be used to politically support firefighters, veterans,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.