{"id":2216204,"date":"2024-04-09T07:01:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T11:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-attorney-general-closes-investigation-into-left-wing-dark-money-network-tied-to-his-office\/"},"modified":"2024-04-09T07:03:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T11:03:26","slug":"dc-attorney-general-closes-investigation-into-left-wing-dark-money-network-tied-to-his-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-attorney-general-closes-investigation-into-left-wing-dark-money-network-tied-to-his-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington DC attorney general concludes inquiry into progressive undisclosed funding network linked to his office"},"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\">30<\/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%2Fdc-attorney-general-closes-investigation-into-left-wing-dark-money-network-tied-to-his-office%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=2216204&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--><p>Washington, D.C.,\u2063 Attorney General Brian Schwalb has concluded the investigation into Arabella Advisors, a $1 billion progressive funding network associated with his\u2062 office. The inquiry was launched \u200bamid allegations of violations concerning Arabella&#8217;s activities. Critics have raised concerns over\u2063 potential conflicts of interest in the investigation. However, Schwalb&#8217;s office continues to look into groups linked to conservative\u2062 activist Leonard Leo.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb is no longer investigating Arabella Advisors, the $1 billion left-wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dark-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>dark money<\/a> network sharing connections to his office, according to a lawyer for Arabella\u2019s funds. <\/p>\n<p>The investigation\u2019s end comes months after Schwalb, a Democrat, <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/dc-attorney-general-subpoenas-arabella-advisors-dark-money-network-following-free-beacon-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>issued<\/a> subpoenas last year to Arabella Advisors and the consulting firm\u2019s offshoot nonprofit organizations, which conservatives in recent years have increasingly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2012388\/democratic-arabella-dark-money-network-faces-irs-complaint-over-lining-ex-clinton-aides-pockets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>accused<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cdc-exposed-inflated-covid-deaths-by-1600-throughout-the-election-violated-multiple-federal-laws-peer-reviewed-study-findsstate-local-governments-must-act\/\" title=\"CDC Exposed: Inflated Covid Deaths By 1600% Throughout The Election, \u201cViolated Multiple Federal Laws\u201d Peer-Reviewed Study Finds\u2026State, Local Governments Must Act\">violating federal law<\/a> to boost Democrats. It also comes on the heels of a March ruling from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Washington, D.C.\">Washington, D.C.<\/a> district judge authorizing discovery in a <a href=\"https:\/\/dockets.justia.com\/docket\/district-of-columbia\/dcdce\/1:2022cv03312\/248723\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>lawsuit<\/a> against New Venture Fund by its former employee Sarah Walker, who is accusing the Arabella-managed group of racial and gender discrimination, as well as retaliating against her for warning about New Venture Fund engaging in alleged tax fraud. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe D.C. Office of the Attorney General closed its investigation into the Funds and Arabella after finding no evidence of a violation of law,\u201d Joshua A. Levy, an attorney for New Venture Fund, Windward Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, and other groups managed by Arabella, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cWe fully cooperated with this investigation and have long known that the Funds and Arabella comply with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Levy declined to comment on when his team was notified of the investigation being closed or how many meetings occurred between them and the attorney general\u2019s office. The attorney general\u2019s office also declined to comment. <\/p>\n<p>Conservatives have raised conflict of interest concerns over the Arabella inquiry since Schwalb and Chief Deputy Attorney General Seth Rosenthal once worked for Venable, a law firm that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/files\/legal\/murs\/7904\/7904_17.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>represented<\/a> New Venture Fund and Sixteen Thirty Fund. Schwalb also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-chuck-schumer-receives-campaign-donations-from-russian-pipeline-linked-affiliates\/\" title=\"Report: Chuck Schumer Receives Campaign Donations from Russian Pipeline-Linked Affiliates\">received campaign donations<\/a> from people linked to Arabella, conservatives <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/left-wing-dark-money-funds-government-weaponization-against-conservatives-opinion-1832439\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>noted<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s concerning is when you have an elected, partisan law enforcement officer charged with investigating a partisan organization that supports all these candidates and, of course, will exonerate the organization that is aligned,\u201d Timothy C. Parlatore, an attorney for Walker, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cWhen you have a central party jurisdiction, then your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/read-it-29-sheriffs-promise-to-safeguard-second-amendment-as-biden-cracks-down-on-gun-rights\/\" title=\"READ IT: 29 Sheriffs Promise To Safeguard Second Amendment As Biden Cracks Down On Gun Rights\">chief law enforcement officers<\/a> are primarily focused on winning the next primary to keep their jobs \u2014 as opposed to seeking justice and making things safer for citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s particularly bad news in single-party jurisdictions,\u201d Parlatore added. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly something we\u2019ve seen in New York, something we\u2019ve seen in Fulton County, Georgia, and it\u2019s something we\u2019re seeing in D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Schwalb\u2019s office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2572177\/inside-leonard-leos-fight-against-the-investigation-into-his-conservative-network\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>still appears to be investigating groups<\/a> linked to Leonard Leo, co-chairman of the Federalist Society legal group and an influential conservative activist. The attorney general\u2019s office previously said it declines to confirm or deny the existence of investigations. <\/p>\n<p>That investigation launched after the left-wing Campaign for Accountability accused Leo in an IRS complaint last year of illegally <a href=\"https:\/\/s3.documentcloud.org\/documents\/23741538\/campaign-for-accountability-irs-complaint-leonard-leo-nonprofits.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>enriching<\/a> himself because his CRC Advisors and BH Group, which Leo partly owns, received consulting cash from various nonprofit groups. News of the inquiry prompted House Republicans to threaten to subpoena Schwalb, whom lawmakers accused of trying to \u201cintimidate and silence\u201d political opponents, the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2595105\/liberal-dc-prosecutor-targeting-federalist-society-co-chairman-threatened-with-gop-subpoena\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>They argued Schwalb was overstepping since Leo\u2019s network includes entities incorporated in Virginia and Texas. In a December 2023 letter, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) slammed Schwalb\u2019s office for \u201ctolerating \u2014 if not authorizing \u2014 politicized leaks[to[to<em>Politico<\/em>]that prejudice the course and outcome of your investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To conservatives and those close to Leo, the investigation into Arabella was never going to be serious, sources <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2572177\/inside-leonard-leos-fight-against-the-investigation-into-his-conservative-network\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in October 2023. That contention was based on the premise that Schwalb may have merely opened the investigation into his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-sides-with-man-fighting-gun-seizure-after-mental-health-episode\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Sides With Man Fighting Gun Seizure After Mental Health Episode\">left-wing allies<\/a> to check a box and move on to looking further into the conservative network \u2014 Schwalb\u2019s actual foe, they said. The Arabella investigation followed an August 2023 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2012388\/democratic-arabella-dark-money-network-faces-irs-complaint-over-lining-ex-clinton-aides-pockets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>IRS complaint<\/a> by the conservative Americans for Public Trust that called for an investigation into whether Arabella illegally \u201cdiverted substantial portions of their income and assets\u201d to Arabella founder Eric Kessler. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe D.C. attorney general quickly whitewashed Arabella Advisors\u2019 network, despite two lawsuits from former employees against Arabella, the conclusions of which will likely embarrass Schwalb,\u201d Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center think tank, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cBut that isn\u2019t surprising because the attorney general and his chief deputy are alumni of a law firm that represented Arabella.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShamefully, Arabella\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/study-american-abortion-laws-closer-to-north-korea-than-europe\/\" title=\"Study: American Abortion Laws Closer to North Korea Than Europe\">left-wing media allies<\/a> have suppressed these embarrassing facts,\u201d said Walter, author of <em>Arabella<\/em>: <em>The Dark Money Network of Leftist Billionaires Secretly Transforming America<\/em>, which released <a href=\"https:\/\/www.encounterbooks.com\/books\/arabella\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>on<\/a> Tuesday. \u201cThis is cheap partisan lawfare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Regarding the Arabella-managed New Venture Fund, it appears to have unlawfully subsidized a nonprofit group called Secure Democracy to the tune of more than $10 million in prior years, according to attorneys for Sarah Walker, the former staffer for the fund. Tax experts said in 2023 that New Venture Fund may have directed political activity for Secure Democracy in violation of IRS law, the <em>Washington Free Beacon <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/top-democratic-operatives-were-quietly-pulling-the-strings-at-a-voting-rights-group-lawyers-say-they-may-have-broken-the-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a>, citing internal documents. <\/p>\n<p>Arabella spokesman Steve Sampson and Kessler, a former Clinton administration aide, did not reply to requests for comment. Leo\u2019s attorney, David B. Rivkin, declined to comment. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Asked if he thinks Schwalb should have waited to close the Arabella investigation, Parlatore, Walker\u2019s attorney, said there is \u201calways a risk for government agencies when they\u2019re investigating something and there\u2019s a parallel civil suit.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes, it\u2019s just better to sit back, wait, and allow the civil process to play out,\u201d Parlatore told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cBecause the last thing you want, if you\u2019re a truly honest, nonpartisan law enforcement officer, is to come to a hasty decision and then have a civil suit that reveals information you should have uncovered before making your decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb has ceased his probe into Arabella Advisors, the $1 billion progressive undisclosed funding network with ties to his office. A lawyer representing Arabella&#8217;s funds confirmed the investigation&#8217;s conclusion. The inquiry, initiated by Schwalb, a Democrat, involved issuing subpoenas to Arabella Advisors and its affiliated nonprofit entities, ending months later<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2216205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/AP23353483331696-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2216204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/AP23353483331696-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216204","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\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2216204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2216204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2216205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2216204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2216204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2216204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}