TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Brad Woodhouse, President, American Bridge 21st Century
RE: Koch brothers have deep ties to anti-Clinton book author
DATE: April 21, 2015
The latest unfounded hit job against Hillary Clinton is a soon-to-be-released book by Peter Schweizer. As with just about any dubious attack on Democrats, the Koch brothers are inextricably linked.
Schweizer has deep ties to the Koch brothers and their network of donors. The Koch brothers might have funneled $1.5 million to Schweizer through donations from Donors Trust, which a former top IRS official has said the Kochs use as an anonymous pass through for their donations.
Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of hedge fund CEO Robert Mercer, is on the Board of Directors of Schweizer’s group, the Government Accountability Institute. At the same time, Bob Mercer has funneled at least $2.5 million to the Koch brothers’ Freedom Partners Action Fund.
In addition, the Kochs have been recruiting Rebekah Mercer to join their sprawling political network in a bid to involve their contributors’ children. So the Kochs clearly believe that Rebekah Mercer adheres to the same ultra-conservative Koch agenda that her father is funding.
The Koch connection to Schweizer’s work as president of GAI is only one of many reasons to discredit his upcoming hit job. His claims have been debunked by fact-checkers ten times, and he’s the author of a book that attacked Disney for supporting female and gay employees. Schweizer’s publisher, HarperCollins, wants the world to know that this book “does not allege illegal or unethical behavior.”
Between Schweizer’s deep Koch connections and history of making outlandish and false claims, he has no credibility to make his latest attacks.
Rebekah Mercer, Daughter of Wealthy Conservative Hedge Fund CEO Robert Mercer, Was On Board of Government Accountability Institute
Rebekah Mercer Served On The Board Of Directors Of The Government Accountability Institute. According to GAI’s 2012 & 2013 forms 990, Rebekah Mercer served as a Director of the Government Accountability Institute. [GAI 2012 & 2013 forms 990, accessed 4/10/15]
Chase Koch, Son of Charles Koch “Has Been Spearheading An Initiative To Involve The Children Of Wealthy Contributors In The Koch Brothers’ Vast Political Network.” According to Politico, “Chase Koch, the 37-year-old son of billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, has been spearheading an initiative to involve the children of wealthy contributors in the Koch brothers’ vast political network, partly by holding special events for them at the network’s twice-annual donor seminars.” [Politico, 12/1/14]
Participants In Events Hosted By Chase Koch Have Included Rebekah Mercer, Daughter Of Bob Mercer, And One Of The Daughters Of Sheldon Adelson. According to Politico, “Next-generation participants have included Rebekah Mercer, the 40-year-old daughter of hedge fund billionaire megadonor Bob Mercer, as well as one of the daughters of Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Adelson, his daughter, and his wife, Miriam Adelson, attended a June 2012 Koch seminar in Carlsbad, California, at which the casino owner told attendees that he hoped his daughter would one day take over the family’s political portfolio.” [Politico, 12/1/14]
Ted Cruz Was Among The Recipients Of Rebekah Mercer’s Largess. According to Bloomberg, “Mercer declined to comment for this story via his a spokesman, Jonathan Gasthalter. Mercer’s daughter Rebekah, who runs the $37.6 million Mercer Family Foundation and sits on the board of at least one conservative non-profit that the family funds, didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. Along with her two sisters Jenji and Heather Sue, she operates a pastry store in mid-town Manhattan. (The business, unlike the vast majority of Mercer’s projects, has bipartisan support. The shop’s website includes rave reviews from former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.) Rebekah Mercer is also a budding political donor, and among the recipients of her largess is Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican.” [Bloomberg, 10/23/14]
ROBERT MERCER, HEDGE FUND CEO AND FUNDER OF KOCH-CONTROLLED FREEDOM PARTNERS NETWORK
Robert Mercer Contributed $2.5 Million To Freedom Partners Action Fund. According to an FEC filing from Freedom Partners Action Fund, Robert Mercer contributed $2,500,000 on September 8, 2014. [Freedom Partners Action Fund FEC Filing via FEC.gov, Accessed 10/16/14]
New York Times: Mercer “Has Spent More Than $15 Million Since 2012 In Support Of Conservative Political Campaigns And Causes, Donating To A Number Of Candidates Who Had Never Even Met Him.” According to the New York Times, “Mr. [Robert] Mercer does not have the name recognition of fellow Republican financiers like the Koch brothers or Sheldon Adelson, but he has spent more than $15 million since 2012 in support of conservative political campaigns and causes, donating to a number of candidates who had never even met him.” [New York Times, 4/11/15]
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY INSTITUTE RECEIVED AT LEAST $1.5 MILLION FROM KOCH-LINKED DONORS TRUST IN 2013
Donors Trust Made A Grant Of $500,000 To The Government Accountability Institute In 2013 For “General Operations.” [DonorsTrust 2013 990 via Citizen Audit, accessed 4/16/15]
Donors Trust Made A Grant Of $1,000,000 To The Government Accountability Institute In 2013 For “General Operations.” [DonorsTrust 2013 990 via Citizen Audit, accessed 4/16/15]
Center for Public Integrity Characterizing Former Director of IRS Exempt Organizations Division Marcus Owens: “Koch Is Among An Exclusive Pool Of Donors Who Have Used Donors Trust As A “Pass-Through.” [Center for Public Integrity, 2/14/13]
Former Director of IRS Exempt Organizations Division Marcus Owens: “Donors Trust Obscures The Source Of The Money. It Becomes A Grant From Donors Trust, Not A Grant From The Koch Brothers.” According to the Center for Public Integrity: “Koch is among an exclusive pool of donors who have used Donors Trust as a “pass-through,” says Marcus Owens, the former director of the IRS Exempt Organizations Division, now in private legal practice. “It obscures the source of the money. It becomes a grant from Donors Trust, not a grant from the Koch brothers.” [Center for Public Integrity, 2/14/13]
Center for Public Integrity Estimated Donors Trust and Affiliated Donors Capital Fund Had Distributed Nearly $400 Million to On Behalf of Wealthy Conservatives, Including The Kochs. According to The Center for Public Integrity: “Donors TrustSince its founding in 1999, Donors Trust and its affiliated organization, Donors Capital Fund, have distributed nearly $400 million, becoming major vehicles for tax-exempt giving from wealthy conservatives such as billionaire industrialist Charles Koch.” [Center for Public Integrity, 2/14/13]
Donors Trust “Obscures The Identity Of The Donors Wishing To Keep Their Charitable Giving Private, Especially ‘Gifts Funding Sensitive Or Controversial Issues.’” According to The Center for Public Integrity: Conservative foundations and individuals use Donors Trust to pass money to a vast network of think tanks and media outlets that push free-market ideology in the states — $86 million in 2011 alone. The arrangement obscures the identity of the donors wishing to keep their charitable giving private, especially “gifts funding sensitive or controversial issues,” according to the group’s website. [Center for Public Integrity, 2/14/13]
Donors Trust Is Funded Largely By “Dozens of Private Foundations Run By Wealthy Executives Or Their Families,” Which “Have Often Sought Anonymity By Passing Their Grants Through Donors Trust.” According to The Center for Public Integrity: “Donors Trust has injected nearly $400 million into free-market causes, thanks in large part to contributions by dozens of private foundations run by wealthy executives or their families. These foundations have often sought anonymity by passing their grants through Donors Trust, but a Center for Public Integrity review of IRS records reveals some of the largest backers of Donors Trust in recent years.” [Center for Public Integrity, 2/14/13]
Donors Trust Recipients Are Longtime Major Recipients of Funding from Koch Foundations. According to The Center for Public Integrity: “Where those funds ended up is a mystery, though some Donors Trust recipients, including the Mercatus Center and the Institute for Humane Studies based at George Mason University in Virginia, have also received major funding from foundations set up by Charles Koch and brother David. Nearly half of the revenue for David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity Foundation came from Donors Trust in 2010, in the form of $7.6 million in grants. Representatives for the Koch foundations did not return calls for comment.” [Center for Public Integrity, 2/14/13]