{"id":2103624,"date":"2023-11-20T06:33:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T11:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-dark-money-kingmaker-pumps-millions-into-nonpartisan-supreme-court-watchdogs\/"},"modified":"2023-11-20T06:39:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T11:39:12","slug":"democratic-dark-money-kingmaker-pumps-millions-into-nonpartisan-supreme-court-watchdogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-dark-money-kingmaker-pumps-millions-into-nonpartisan-supreme-court-watchdogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Democratic dark money kingmaker pumps millions into &#8216;nonpartisan&#8217; Supreme Court watchdogs"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/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%2Fdemocratic-dark-money-kingmaker-pumps-millions-into-nonpartisan-supreme-court-watchdogs%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=2103624&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--><h2>Supreme Court\u2062 Watchdogs Funded by Dark Money Network<\/h2>\n<p>A group of\u2063 nonpartisan \u2064Supreme Court watchdogs, demanding greater financial transparency from conservative justices, received millions of dollars in funding from the largest Democratic-allied dark\u200d money network in the United States, according\u200d to tax forms. \u200cThese funds,\u2063 made public through new financial disclosures, highlight the reliance of these watchdog \u200bgroups on\u2063 influential left-wing grantmakers,\u200d such as Arabella Advisors, to support \u2064their campaign against Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.<\/p>\n<p>The Arabella Advisors consulting firm manages a \u2063network of nonprofit organizations \u200bthat\u2062 spent over $1 billion last year \u200cto support liberal causes. Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb is currently investigating Arabella Advisors and its offshoots for alleged financial mismanagement. The \u200dconsultancy also oversees several\u200c funds, including Hopewell Fund,\u200c North Fund, and Windward Fund, which sponsor lesser-known groups exempt from\u200b filing tax forms with the IRS.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Conservative Judicial Crisis \u200bNetwork Accuses Arabella Advisors of Bias<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Carrie Severino,\u200d president\u2063 of the conservative Judicial \u200cCrisis Network, criticized Arabella Advisors,\u2062 stating \u2063that they specialize in creating front groups that appear locally-run or \u2062nonpartisan to advance their \u2062extreme agenda. Severino \u2062believes that Arabella Advisors is behind the campaign to discredit conservative justices.<\/p>\n<p>The Judicial Crisis Network, also known as Concord Fund, is affiliated with Federalist Society co-chair Leonard Leo, who, along with GOP businessman Harlan\u200b Crow, may face congressional subpoenas regarding \u2063their connections\u2064 to Thomas and\u2064 Alito. \u200bSenate Judiciary Committee Democrats decided against pursuing the matter after \u200bRepublicans suggested issuing a subpoena to Arabella \u200cAdvisors.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Schwalb has initiated an investigation into tax-exempt \u200borganizations linked to Leo following a complaint by\u2062 Campaign for\u200c Accountability, a\u2063 self-proclaimed nonpartisan watchdog. \u200bThe \u2063complaint \u200dalleged that several nonprofit groups, including Concord Fund, paid excessive\u200c compensation\u2064 to Leo.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Nonpartisan\u200d Watchdogs Funded by Open Society Foundations<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Campaign for Accountability, a former project of Hopewell Fund, received a $450,000 \u200cdonation in 2022 \u200dfrom New Venture Fund. This adds to the $2.3 million that New Venture Fund has wired to CFA between \u20622016 and 2021. CFA has\u200b also received significant \u2063funding from Open Society Foundations, a liberal grantmaking network \u200bbacked \u2064by Democratic megadonor \u200bGeorge Soros.<\/p>\n<p>In September, CFA\u2064 joined\u2062 over 40 \u2063&#8221;Supreme\u200d Court watchdog \u200dand accountability organizations&#8221; in sending\u2064 a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts,\u2062 demanding that Thomas \u2063and Alito recuse\u200c themselves from \u200ccases allegedly tied to conservative hedge fund manager Paul \u2062Singer and the right-libertarian \u2064Koch Network.<\/p>\n<p>Accountable.US, another self-proclaimed nonpartisan watchdog, received over \u2064$2 million in 2022\u2062 from New\u2063 Venture Fund for civil rights, social action,\u200b and advocacy. Between 2019 \u2062and 2021,\u2062 Accountable.US\u200d received a staggering $8 million from \u2063New Venture Fund. The organization has\u200b called for\u200c Clarence Thomas&#8217;s resignation, citing \u200dProPublica&#8217;s reporting on his failure to\u2063 disclose travel with Crow.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Conservatives \u200dAccuse Watchdogs \u200dof Partisanship<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Republicans have pushed back against allegations of\u2064 impropriety, noting that there were no laws at the time requiring disclosure of\u200d the travel. Critics \u2062argue that these watchdog groups, \u2063claiming to be nonpartisan, \u2063are actually partisan propagandists serving the\u200b interests of their left-wing billionaire donors. Mark Paoletta, former general counsel for the Office of Management and\u200d Budget under President \u2064Donald Trump, criticized these groups \u2062for \u200cmanufacturing phony ethics scandals to undermine trust in the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>Common Cause,\u2064 a grassroots organization dedicated to\u200b upholding American democracy, \u200bhas also criticized Thomas and Alito for their ties to conservative activists. The organization has received \u2062millions of dollars from Open Society Foundations and has been allied with progressives. Other\u2064 watchdog groups, such as \u2062Project on Government Oversight, \u2062have also received funding from New Venture Fund and have called\u2062 for investigations into Thomas&#8217;s failure to disclose gifts.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the \u2063controversy\u2064 surrounding these watchdog groups, they continue to \u2062receive funding from various sources, including dark money networks and liberal\u200b grantmakers.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> \u2062Why are some organizations calling for the Supreme \u2064Court to adopt a code of conduct?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u2063 Er\u200d 60 organizations in \u200bcalling for the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct. \u2064The group claimed that the Court&#8217;s current rules are insufficient\u2063 in\u2062 addressing potential conflicts of interest and \u200bthe appearance of bias among the justices.\u200c<\/p>\n<p>The issue of dark money in\u2064 the judicial system has been \u2063a subject of concern \u200dfor many on the right. Critics argue that the\u2064 lack of transparency surrounding the funding of watchdog groups undermines the \u2062integrity of their mission. It raises questions about their\u2062 motives\u200c and whether \u2062they are\u200c truly impartial\u200c in their assessments of the Supreme Court justices.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters of the watchdog \u2063groups, however, \u200ccontend that their work is crucial in holding the judiciary accountable. They argue that public scrutiny of justices&#8217; financial ties and potential\u2063 conflicts of interest \u200bis necessary to maintain public trust in the \u200cSupreme\u200b Court.\u200c<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>The\u200c Importance of Financial Transparency<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>At the heart of this debate is the issue of \u200bfinancial \u200ctransparency. In an era where the influence of money in\u200b politics is \u200ba significant concern, it is vital to ensure that\u2064 our\u200d judicial system\u200c remains \u2062impartial and free from\u2064 undue influence.\u200c<\/p>\n<p>Financial disclosures provide a window into the financial interests and affiliations of public figures, allowing the public and watchdog groups to assess potential biases and\u200d conflicts\u200d of interest. If \u200cthese \u2062disclosures are incomplete or lacking, it becomes challenging to ascertain\u2062 whether a Supreme Court justice&#8217;s decision-making is influenced \u200bby\u200d external factors.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, it \u200cis essential for \u200dall watchdog groups,\u2064 regardless of their political leanings, to be transparent about \u200dtheir sources of funding. This transparency \u200dhelps maintain their credibility and \u200dallows the public to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-scarborough-says-trump-has-his-guy-sitting-in-the-speakers-chair\/\" title=\"Joe Scarborough claims that Trump has his preferred person occupying the speaker's position.\">make\u200d informed judgments<\/a> about the legitimacy of their\u200c findings and recommendations.\u200c<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, \u200ctransparency in funding allows for \u200ca more comprehensive \u2063understanding of the broader landscape of political influence.\u200d It enables us \u200dto identify patterns and\u2062 potential biases within the\u200b system.\u200c<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Addressing the Issue<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>To \u2064address concerns\u200d about \u200bthe influence of dark money on Supreme Court watchdog groups, there should be bipartisan support for \u2063greater financial transparency. Both conservative and liberal groups should disclose their\u2064 sources of funding, enabling \u200dthe public to evaluate \u2063potential biases and conflicts\u2064 of interest.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, it is crucial for \u2062the \u200bjudiciary itself to adopt rigorous ethics guidelines that\u200c address\u200d conflicts of interest \u2063and the appearance of bias. This will \u200chelp \u200densure that the \u2063decisions made by Supreme Court justices are based solely on the merits of the cases \u2062before\u200b them.<\/p>\n<p>Last but not least, \u2063regulatory\u2064 bodies,\u200b such \u200cas the Internal Revenue Service, should scrutinize\u200b the activities of nonprofit organizations \u2062and ensure compliance with tax regulations. This will prevent the misuse of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/parker-give-america-a-new-birth-of-freedom-in-virginia\/\" title=\"PARKER: Give America A New Birth Of Freedom In Virginia\">tax-exempt entities<\/a> for political purposes.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the reliance of Supreme \u2062Court watchdog groups on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-dark-money-kingmaker-pumps-millions-into-nonpartisan-supreme-court-watchdogs\/\" title=\"Democratic dark money kingmaker pumps millions into 'nonpartisan' Supreme Court watchdogs\">dark money networks\u2064 raises questions<\/a> \u200dabout their impartiality \u2062and\u200d motives. \u2063To maintain public\u200d trust in the judiciary,\u2062 it is crucial for all\u200d such groups to be transparent about their \u2063funding sources. Moreover, both conservative and liberal organizations should work together to address \u2064the issue \u2062of dark\u200c money in the judiciary and promote financial transparency. Only \u2064by \u2064doing so can \u200bwe\u2064 ensure that\u2063 the decisions made by our highest court are truly based on\u200d the merits of the cases before them and not influenced\u200b by undisclosed\u2062 external factors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Nonpartisan&#8221; Supreme Court watchdogs demanding conservative justices disclose more about their finances hauled in millions of dollars combined in 2022 from the largest Democratic-allied dark money network in the United States, tax forms show. The cash transfers, which became public Wednesday upon the release of new financial disclosures, underscore how groups leading a campaign targeting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2103625,"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":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2103624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"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\/2103624","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2103624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2103624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2103625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2103624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2103624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2103624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}