{"id":2353832,"date":"2024-10-11T15:56:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T19:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-candidate-consulted-for-group-with-dark-money-ties\/"},"modified":"2024-10-11T15:57:16","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T19:57:16","slug":"house-candidate-consulted-for-group-with-dark-money-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-candidate-consulted-for-group-with-dark-money-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"House candidate consulted for group with dark money ties &#8211;"},"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\">20<\/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%2Fhouse-candidate-consulted-for-group-with-dark-money-ties%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=2353832&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>In a contested\u200d House\u200c race, Curtis\u200c Hertel, a Democratic candidate from\u200d Michigan, faces scrutiny \u200dfor his ties to organizations\u200b linked to\u200c &#8220;dark money.&#8221; Despite campaigning against the influence of special interests, Hertel reported \u2062earning $20,000 for consulting with Inseparable, a mental health policy organization associated with left-wing\u2062 dark money groups. This organization, founded by staff from the\u2063 Civitas\u200d Public Affairs Group, does not disclose its\u2062 donors and has financial connections to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dark-money-fuels-push-to-ditch-filibuster\/\" title=\"Dark Money Fuels Push to Ditch Filibuster\">dark money networks<\/a>, raising questions about Hertel&#8217;s commitments\u200d to transparency. Critics point \u200dout the contradiction in his stance, highlighting his past\u2064 advocacy for eliminating dark money from politics. Hertel&#8217;s \u2064campaign is now under \u2064fire for perceived hypocrisy, with opponents labeling him as a\u200c &#8220;hypocritical, sleazy lobbyist.&#8221;  <\/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<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">House candidate attacking &lsquo;special interests&rsquo; consulted for group with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sheldon-whitehouse-invited-three-dark-money-critics-to-testify-to-congress-they-all-take-dark-money\/\" title=\"Sheldon Whitehouse Invited Three Dark Money Critics To Testify to Congress. They All Take Dark Money.\">dark money ties<\/a><\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1657189\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democratic<\/a> congressional candidate who criticized the influence of &ldquo;special interests&rdquo; consulted for an organization in Washington, D.C., linked to left-wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dark-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>dark money<\/a> groups, according to financial disclosures.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Curtis Hertel, a Democrat running in a competitive House race to fill a seat that is vacant due to Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3185138\/slotkin-democrats-own-project-2025-abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Elissa Slotkin<\/a> (D-MI) deciding to run for Senate, <a href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2024\/10062632.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a> on his 2024 candidate financial disclosures that he earned $20,000 in the preceding year to consult for Inseparable. The mental health policy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inseparable.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>organization<\/a>, which houses a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group that does not disclose its donors to the IRS, was formed by top staffers at a D.C.-based firm called Civitas Public Affairs Group that has Democratic dark money ties.<\/p>\n<p>However, as a state senator in Michigan, Hertel <a href=\"https:\/\/housedems.com\/rep-hope-sen-hertel-work-to-get-dark-money-out-of-politics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>sought<\/a> to &ldquo;get dark money out of politics.&rdquo; He introduced a <a href=\"https:\/\/legislature.mi.gov\/Bills\/Bill?ObjectName=2021-SB-0196\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>bill<\/a> in 2021 that &ldquo;would require certain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-arabella-dark-money-network-faces-irs-complaint-over-lining-ex-clinton-aides-pockets\/\" title=\"Dark money network linked to Democratic Arabella Advisors faces IRS complaint for enriching former Clinton aide.\">nonprofit groups affiliated<\/a> with Michigan candidates to disclose who is funding the groups and how they spend their money,&rdquo; according to a press release, which quoted Hertel demanding &ldquo;full transparency from candidates and their donors.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In June, <span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">a press release by End Citizens United, a progressive group,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/endcitizensunited.org\/latest-news\/press-releases\/end-citizens-united-let-america-vote-endorses-curtis-hertel-for-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">quoted Hertel as<\/a>&nbsp;criticizing &ldquo;the corrosive impact of special interests in our politics.&rdquo;<\/span> In 2020, Hertel <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CurtisHertelJr\/status\/1240470191470936064\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>also<\/a> took aim at a Michigan official for accepting a &ldquo;dark money check&rdquo; into his corporate account.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Inseparable, the group Hertel disclosed consulting for, counts its co-founders as a trio of Civitas Public Affairs Group staffers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.civitaspublicaffairs.com\/our-team\/bill-smith\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>including<\/a> the firm&rsquo;s chairman, Bill Smith. The chairman doubles as the CEO of Inseparable, whose charity arm pays hundreds of thousands of dollars for consulting services to Civitas Public Affairs Group, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/nonprofits\/organizations\/850938575\/202323179349300132\/full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>tax<\/a> forms filed with the IRS. Smith cut a $500 check to Hertel&rsquo;s House campaign last year, Federal Election Commission <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/?amp%3Bcommittee_id=C00844480&amp;%3Bcontributor_name=William+Smith&amp;data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00844480&amp;contributor_name=william+smith\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>filings<\/a> show.<\/p>\n<p>Civitas Public Affairs Group also shares an office in D.C. with Inseparable, according to tax forms.<\/p>\n<p>Civitas Public Affairs Group notably produced a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/app\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Wyss-Foundation-Communications-Hub.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>report<\/a> in 2015 for a foundation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/13\/business\/media\/wyss-tribune-company-buyer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>connected<\/a> to Swiss billionaire Hansj&ouml;rg Wyss for a &ldquo;communications hub&rdquo; reportedly resembling a coalition called the Hub Project. The coalition launched that year with the help of Obama administration officials, the <em>New York Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/05\/03\/us\/politics\/hansjorg-wyss-money-democrats.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reported<\/a>. It is fiscally sponsored <a href=\"https:\/\/thehubproject.org\/jobs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>by<\/a> the New Venture Fund, a charity managed by the D.C.-based dark money firm Arabella Advisors, according to tax records. Arabella Advisors oversees the largest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2446519\/democratic-tied-dark-money-network-arabella-advisors-behind-youth-tech-lobbying-groups\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democratic-aligned dark money network<\/a> in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Civitas Public Affairs Group senior <a href=\"https:\/\/www.civitaspublicaffairs.com\/our-team\/alicia-diez\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>associate<\/a> Alicia Diaz, a co-founder of Inseparable, is listed on the website of a little-known group <a href=\"https:\/\/pipeline.fund\/our-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>called<\/a> the Pipeline Fund as its grants manager. However, the Pipeline Fund does not actually exist on paper. It is a project of Arabella&rsquo;s Sixteen Thirty Fund, a 501(c)(4) group that spends hundreds of millions of dollars to elect Democrats.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pipeline.fund\/our-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Krithika Harish<\/a>, a Pipeline Fund co-founder and board member, sits on Inseparable&rsquo;s advisery board. Harish, who has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/krithika\/status\/1267827448890023937\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>called<\/a> to &ldquo;end capitalism,&rdquo; left Civitas Public Affairs Group in 2022, according to her LinkedIn account.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Extreme Democrat Curtis Hertel will say anything to squeeze out a vote, but his record is clear: He&rsquo;s nothing more than a hypocritical, sleazy lobbyist riddled with dark money ties and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/road-rage-incident-could-undermine-radical-prosecutors-promotion-to-u-s-attorney\/\" title=\"Road Rage Incident Could Undermine Radical Prosecutor\u2019s Promotion to U.S. Attorney\">radical policy positions<\/a> that are out of touch with regular Michiganders,&rdquo; said Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. <\/p>\n<p>Inseparable <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inseparable.us\/building-hope-strategy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>recently called<\/a> for providing &ldquo;diversity and equity training curricula that are anti-racist, inclusion centering, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, healing-centered and inclusion centering,&rdquo; according to its website. The group has said &ldquo;modifying law enforcement&rdquo; is necessary, and there are &ldquo;discriminatory structures and policies&rdquo; in the U.S. &ldquo;that disproportionately impact the mental health of people of color.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear what matters Hertel focused on while consulting for Inseparable. The Democrat will face Republican <a href=\"https:\/\/tombarrettforcongress.com\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Tom Barrett<\/a>, a U.S. Army veteran and former Michigan state senator, in November to represent Michigan&rsquo;s 7th Congressional District.<\/p>\n<p>The race is a toss-up, according to the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cookpolitical.com\/ratings\/house-race-ratings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Cook Political Report<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Hertel&rsquo;s campaign declined to comment on his consulting work, instead providing an unrelated statement from Hertel&rsquo;s spokesman, Sam Kwait-Spitzer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Voters see through Tom Barrett&rsquo;s attempt to distract from his record in the legislature of shielding drug companies from legal accountability, leaving office to work for a lobbyist, and then being rewarded with millions in campaign support from Big Pharma allies,&rdquo; Kwait-Spitzer said. <\/p>\n<p>Inseparable did not return a request for comment. <\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1657189\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1657189\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House candidate criticizing &#8216;special interests&#8217; consulted for dark money group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2353833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Curtis-Hertel-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33926,27910,32534,33642],"class_list":["post-2353832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-campaign-finance","tag-dark-money","tag-house-candidate","tag-political-funding"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Curtis-Hertel-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353832","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=2353832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2353833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2353832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2353832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2353832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}