When it comes to political spending, there are shady outside groups, and then there’s Koch brothers’ operations.
The Center to Protect Patient Rights (CPPR) is a Koch brothers organization that has
been described as “the linchpin in one of the most complex networks of dark money in the country.” By virtue of its non-profit status, CPPR is exempt from any requirement to disclose its donors. In turn, it is able to function as an ATM for Koch-linked organizations, funneling tens of millions of dollars from anonymous wealthy donors to a smorgasbord of high-powered conservative groups.
In essence, Center to Protect Patient Rights is campaign money laundering apparatus. Actually, not just in essence — California recently fined CPPR $1 million for what they
explicitly deemed “campaign money laundering,” a violation of state campaign finance law.
But there’s more. This week, CPPR was at the center of a new revelation that really puts the gold-plated icing on the cake.
Three years ago, the Center to Protect Patient Rights — a nonprofit grant-making organization fueled by the political fundraising network of conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch — made a seven-figure contribution to another nonprofit.
That transaction itself may not have been notable, except for the fact that the group, American Commitment, says it wasn’t the beneficiary of the money.
Now, Sean Noble — a political consultant who was chosen by the Koch brothers to quarterback their political efforts, and who signed the Center to Protect Patient Rights’ tax return disclosing the contribution under penalty of perjury — is refusing to explain where the missing $1.6 million went.
Got that? One of the many 7-figure checks written by Koch operative who steers the mysterious CPPR supposedly went to a group called American Commitment, only America Commitment didn’t get the money. And nobody knows where it went. It’s missing. $1.6 million is missing.
Maybe in the secretive billionaire of circles that the Koch brothers operate in, $1.6 million is such a tiny amount of money that nobody noticed or cared. Maybe someone dropped it on a roller coaster or forgot it in a hotel room.
More likely, it was steered somewhere it shouldn’t have gone to skirt more campaign finance laws. But for now, your guess is as good as anyone’s.
Sacramento Bee: California Fair Political Practices Commission Levied $1 Million Fine Against Groups In “Koch Operated” Network for “Inappropriately Laundering Money During Last Year’s Ballot Initiative Wars.” According to the Sacramento Bee: “California’s political watchdog has levied a $1 million fine against two non-profit groups for inappropriately laundering money during last year’s ballot initiative wars. In a campaign finance case watched around the country, California’s political watchdog has levied a $1 million fine against two non-profit groups for inappropriately laundering money during last year’s ballot initiative wars. The Fair Political Practices Commission announced the settlement with the Center to Protect Patient Rights and Americans for Responsible Leadership, two groups based in Arizona that the FPPC describes as part of a network operated by the conservative Koch brothers.” [The Sacramento Bee, 10/24/13]
New York Times Headline: “Group Linked to Kochs Admits to Campaign Finance Violations.” [The New York Times, 10/24/13]
KQED: “Under California Law, The Transaction Was Money Laundering Pure And Simple. The FPPC Said It Was “The Largest Contribution Ever Disclosed As Campaign Money Laundering In California History.” [KQED, 10/24/13]