{"id":2008950,"date":"2023-08-23T05:10:04","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T09:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-super-pac-faces-complaint-over-donor-concealment-scheme-financial-discrepancies\/"},"modified":"2023-08-23T05:15:04","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T09:15:04","slug":"biden-super-pac-faces-complaint-over-donor-concealment-scheme-financial-discrepancies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-super-pac-faces-complaint-over-donor-concealment-scheme-financial-discrepancies\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden Super PAC Accused of Concealing Donors, Financial Discrepancies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-super-pac-faces-complaint-over-donor-concealment-scheme-financial-discrepancies%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2008950&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Future\u2062 Forward&#8217;s financial discrepancies\u2062 are &#8216;egregious&#8217; and &#8216;hypocritical,&#8217; watchdog group \u2063says<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure><figcaption>(Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s favorite super PAC will have to explain a $12 million \u200chole \u2063in \u200bits\u2062 finances and its \u2062apparent use of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-super-pac-faces-complaint-over-donor-concealment-scheme-financial-discrepancies\/\" title=\"Biden Super PAC Accused of Concealing Donors, Financial Discrepancies\">illegal donor\u200b concealment scheme<\/a> after \u200da watchdog group\u200b filed a complaint to the Federal Election Commission\u200d on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden White House recently endorsed Future Forward as the &#8220;pre-eminent super PAC&#8221; supporting the president\u2019s \u2062reelection bid. \u2062But Future Forward\u2019s financial disclosures are rife\u2064 with glaring discrepancies, and the group\u200b used\u2063 its affiliated \u200ddark money \u2064nonprofit, Future Forward USA Action, to conceal from the\u200d public some of the donors behind its nearly $400 million bankroll \u200din a manner that has resulted in fines and convictions for other political activists, the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em> \u2064reported.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200c National Legal and Policy Center said in\u200d its <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NLPC-FEC-Complaint-FF-PAC.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">complaint<\/a> Tuesday\u200b that Future Forward\u2019s conduct violated federal \u200blaw, \u2064and urged the \u2063commission to investigate and penalize \u200dthe group.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Joe Biden&#8217;s super PAC&#8217;s failure to fully disclose and account for millions of\u2064 dollars funneled \u200dto it\u200b from uber-rich donors to its related dark money group\u2062 is not\u2064 only \u200dan \u2062egregious violation of FEC laws, but also hypocritical considering Biden&#8217;s public \u200bstatements\u200d against such <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-hawley-files-counter-complaint-against-senate-dems\/\" title=\"Sen. Hawley files counter-complaint against Senate Dems\">dark money groups<\/a>,&#8221;<\/strong> said Paul Kamenar, \u200dan attorney with the watchdog group.<\/p>\n<p>Though Biden said in September that dark\u2064 money\u200b &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-says-masks-should-absolutely-not-be-mandated-for-school-children\/\" title=\"DeSantis Says Masks Should \u2018Absolutely Not\u2019 Be Mandated For School Children\">erodes public trust<\/a>&#8221; and\u2063 poses a \u2062&#8221;serious \u200cproblem \u200cfacing our democracy,&#8221; Biden deputy chief of staff Jennifer O\u2019Malley <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/14\/us\/politics\/biden-future-forward-super-pac.html\">said<\/a> months later that Future Forward would &#8220;play a key role&#8221; in supporting \u200dthe president in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The National Legal and Policy\u200c Center\u2019s complaint kicks off an enforcement \u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/resources\/cms-content\/documents\/respondent_guide.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">process<\/a> \u200d by which Future Forward will have\u200b the opportunity to demonstrate \u2063to \u2062the FEC why\u2062 it did not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-education-sec-on-womens-school-sports-we-have-a-legal-responsibility-to-include-transgender-athletes\/\" title=\"Biden Education Sec On Women\u2019s School Sports: We Have a \u2018Legal Responsibility\u2019 to Include Transgender Athletes\">violate federal law<\/a>. But the irreconcilable\u2062 discrepancies in Future\u2064 Forward\u2019s public reporting \u200bcould introduce difficulties for the group if it tries to make that \u200bcase.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Future Forward\u2019s dark money affiliate\u200b disclosed to the IRS\u200d in 2021 that it forwarded $3.4 million in earmarked donations to the\u200c super PAC that \u2063year, a designation that would require the\u200c group to reveal\u200b the original donors to the \u2062FEC, former commissioner Bradley Smith <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/elections\/bidens-favorite-super-pac-used-illegal-scheme-to-conceal-its-donors-experts-say\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> the <em>Free \u2062Beacon<\/em>. But Future Forward declined to disclose who contributed the\u2062 cash, instead reporting \u200dthat the\u200d funds originated from the dark\u2062 money group\u2019s coffers.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200d FEC has a history of penalizing conservative\u2063 groups for similar conduct. The commission imposed a $350,000 fine\u2063 against the American Conservative Union in 2017 for acting\u2062 as \u200da &#8220;pass through&#8221; to conceal the source of an \u2063earmarked $1.7 million super PAC contribution.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Justice has also \u2062pursued criminal cases against super PACs that use dark money groups \u200bto conceal donor identities. Federal authorities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/president-and-treasurer-super-pac-sentenced-dark-money-scheme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sentenced<\/a> the leader of a Puerto Rico-based super \u200bPAC \u200cto\u200c 14 months in prison in 2022\u200b for\u200c laundering \u200cpolitical contributions to \u2062the entity through two\u2062 affiliated dark money groups.<\/p>\n<p>Future\u2063 Forward will also likely be hard-pressed to explain a $12 million hole in\u200b its finances in 2021. The group\u2019s dark\u2063 money affiliate reported to the IRS it\u2062 contributed $15.3 million \u2062to\u200d the super PAC that year. But Future \u200cForward claimed it received just $3.4 million from the dark \u2064money \u200bgroup in\u200b 2021.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;It\u200c seems very odd to tell the IRS that you sent $15 million to a super\u200c PAC, but to only have \u2062that super PAC report $3 million,&#8221;<\/strong> nonprofit attorney Jason Torchinsky <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/elections\/legal-experts-call-for-investigation-into-bidens-favorite-super-pac-over-serious-financial-discrepancies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>. <strong>&#8220;If the \u2062FEC determined\u200d that there were $12 million in\u200b underreported receipts by a super\u2064 PAC, that could result in a substantial fine \u2062because\u2064 FEC penalties are \u200doften assessed based on the amount at issue.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Future Forward did not return \u2063a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden&#8217;s preferred super PAC, Future Forward, is facing scrutiny over its financial irregularities and alleged illegal donor concealment. A watchdog group has lodged a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, demanding an explanation for the $12 million deficit in the organization&#8217;s finances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":2008951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2008950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2008950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2008951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2008950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2008950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2008950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}