{"id":2394597,"date":"2025-01-24T05:10:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T10:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doge-lawsuits-run-on-dark-money\/"},"modified":"2025-01-24T05:11:39","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T10:11:39","slug":"doge-lawsuits-run-on-dark-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doge-lawsuits-run-on-dark-money\/","title":{"rendered":"DOGE lawsuits run on dark money"},"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\">12<\/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%2Fdoge-lawsuits-run-on-dark-money%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=2394597&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>The \u200barticle discusses a series\u2062 of lawsuits filed against \u2062President \u2063Donald Trump&#8217;s new governance,particularly targeting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). These lawsuits claim that the DOGE should\u2064 be classified as a\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fired-epa-official-sues-biden-administration-over-alleged-purging-of-top-officials\/\" title=\"Fired EPA Official Sues Biden Administration Over Alleged Purging Of Top Officials\">federal advisory committee<\/a>, requiring\u200b transparency and public disclosure of meetings. The\u200b lawsuits are \u2064backed by various left-leaning organizations funded by \u2063significant &#8220;dark money.&#8221; Critics argue that these \u200dlawsuits are politically motivated and lack legal basis, especially as Trump later signed an executive\u2063 order designating DOGE \u200das \u200dpart of \u200dthe \u2063executive branch, thus \u200dexempting it from the\u200b Federal Advisory Committee Act.<\/p>\n<p>The watchdog groups, while promoting their lawsuits for transparency,\u200d are themselves intertwined\u200c in controversial funding networks \u200dthat provide them considerable financial backing.As an exmaple,\u200c funds from Democratic-aligned \u200cnetworks, \u200blike Arabella Advisors, \u200bhave reportedly supported \u2064these groups, \u2064raising questions about\u200b their motivations\u2064 and impartiality. \u2063Conservative figures, including attorney Mike Davis, have called the lawsuits legally frivolous. \u200dAs the\u2064 Trump\u2063 administration faces ongoing \u200clegal challenges, this situation marks the beginning of potential prolonged conflicts between conservative leadership\u200c and \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-infighting-heats-up-over-agenda\/\" title=\"Democratic Infighting Heats Up Over Agenda\">left-leaning activists<\/a>. The scenario suggests a political habitat poised for continued battles, especially as influential figures like Elon Musk, closely associated with Trump, take\u200d leading roles within DOGE.  <\/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\">DOGE lawsuits accusing Trump of &lsquo;transparency&rsquo; lapse are fueled by dark money<\/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_1942980\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Watchdog groups launching &ldquo;transparency&rdquo; lawsuits over President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a>&lsquo;s government-wide effort to slash federal spending can thank tens of millions of dollars in &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dark-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">dark money<\/a>&rdquo; funding for helping to keep their lights on, records show.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>On Monday, Trump and his new administration were hit <a href=\"https:\/\/democracyforward.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/DOGE-FACA-Lawsuit-1.20.25.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">with<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.276600\/gov.uscourts.dcd.276600.1.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">flurry<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/PC-SDDF-AFGE-complaint-final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">lawsuits<\/a> from left-wing groups, including the likes of VoteVets Action Fund, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Public Citizen, and the State Democracy Defenders Fund. In the telling of the plaintiffs, Trump&rsquo;s so-called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-government-efficiency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Department of Government Efficiency<\/a> should be considered a federal advisory committee, which stipulates certain transparency requirements such as public disclosure of taxpayer-funded meetings.<\/p>\n<p>However, the arguments of the plaintiffs appeared to be weakened upon Trump later signing an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3292913\/doge-to-be-sued-after-trump-sworn-in\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">executive order<\/a> establishing the DOGE as a unit within the executive branch rather than it being an outside organization. And the watchdogs, who raised the concerns in complaints filed in federal court in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Washington<\/a> have their own secretive ties. They benefit financially from a constellation of progressive organizations, according to tax forms and Federal Election Commission filings.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is a legally frivolous lawsuit by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/explosive-pennsylvania-testimony-explains-how-leftist-money-infiltrated-election-offices-in-2020\/\" title=\"Explosive Pennsylvania Testimony Explains How Leftist Money Infiltrated Election Offices In 2020\">left-wing political activists<\/a>,&rdquo; said Mike Davis, a conservative attorney and Trump ally who runs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.article3project.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">the<\/a> Article III Project. &ldquo;As the president&rsquo;s executive order makes clear, DOGE is a government entity, housed in the Executive Office of the President and staffed by federal employees. The Federal Advisory Committee Act doesn&rsquo;t apply.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The flurry of lawsuits on Trump&rsquo;s first day in office is likely a warmup to the winding legal battles that will be teed up between the Republican administration and left-leaning activists over the next four years &mdash; as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3235838\/billionaire-musk-foe-bankrolls-second-trump-resistance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Resistance 2.0 takes shape<\/a> with the support of billionaire donors. The DOGE is headed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Elon Musk<\/a>, the world&rsquo;s richest man and a close confidant of Trump after spending hundreds of millions of dollars to will him to the White House.<\/p>\n<p>Musk&rsquo;s rocket company, SpaceX, notably <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/20\/us\/politics\/elon-musk-federal-agencies-contracts.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">benefits<\/a> from lucrative government contracts &mdash; including from agencies that the DOGE is aiming to target over spending that Republicans determine to be politically partisan and wasteful. Along with renaming the U.S. Digital Service to the &ldquo;U.S. DOGE Service,&rdquo; Trump created a temporary DOGE group that will expire in 2026. &ldquo;DOGE teams&rdquo; will reportedly be assigned to agencies, as well.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elon Musk&rsquo;s Department of Government Efficiency is already the target of lawsuits over alleged transparency concerns. (AP Photo\/Susan Walsh)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Among the lawsuits was one filed by the progressive group Public Citizen, joined by the State Democracy Defenders Fund, a Democratic-aligned legal hub formed last year by former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Obama administration<\/a> official Norm Eisen, and the American Federation of Government Employees, a labor union funded by paid dues collected from public workers.<\/p>\n<p>But the State Democracy Defenders Fund, a charity registered with the IRS, only recently became a stand-alone entity.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, it earned its stripes as a <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/nonprofits\/organizations\/822861559\/202443039349301559\/full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">project <\/a>of the North Main Street Fund, a New Hampshire-based group hosting a variety of programs related to racial equity, environmentalism, and other left-leaning agenda items. In May 2024, the SDDF <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/nonprofits\/organizations\/932740517\/202442999349200009\/IRS990EZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">filed <\/a>to become an independent charity while retaining the same street address as its parent.<\/p>\n<p>Organizations within the massive Democratic-aligned Arabella Advisors dark money network in Washington shuffled $1.6 million to the North Main Street Fund between 2018 and 2023, tax records show. Other left-wing groups, including Democratic megadonor Michael Moritz&rsquo;s Crankstart Foundation, the Rockefeller Family Fund, and an anti-Trump legal group called the Protect Democracy Project, are among those that have pumped millions of dollars into the North Main Street Fund.<\/p>\n<p>The SDDF, under federal law, is required to be nonpartisan. At the same time, the<strong> <\/strong>employees listed on its website are Democrats or have a long history of working for other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-joe-biden-used-taxpayer-money-to-buy-young-voters-in-the-2022-midterms\/\" title=\"How Joe Biden Used Taxpayer Money To Buy Young Voters In The 2022 Midterms\">left-wing nonprofit groups<\/a>. Meanwhile, the organization&rsquo;s 501(c)(4) &ldquo;dark money&rdquo; arm received nearly $1.6 million combined<strong> <\/strong>from the Open Society Policy Center, a lobbying shop funded by Democratic megadonor George Soros, and the Arabella Advisors-managed Sixteen Thirty Fund. The Sixteen Thirty Fund <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2809693\/sixteen-thirty-fund-haley-aide-liberal-dark-money-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">pours<\/a> millions of dollars annually into Democratic-aligned political committees and ballot initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>Public Citizen, one of the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit, also turns to anonymously sourced funding to stay afloat as it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/news\/shining-light-on-dark-money-is-good-for-democracy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">decries <\/a>the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/article\/disclose-act-we-need-to-protect-democracy-from-the-influence-of-dark-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">influence <\/a>of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.org\/news\/dark-money-riders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">dark money<\/a> in politics.<\/p>\n<p>Its nonprofit arms rake in donations from the likes of the Tides Foundation and NEO Philanthropy, which serve as clearinghouses for wealthy donors to quietly influence politics. And Public Citizen pockets anonymous checks through other donor-advised funds, including the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund and the Schwab Charitable Fund.<\/p>\n<p>A second lawsuit over the DOGE counts its plaintiffs, among others, as VoteVets Action Fund and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>VoteVets rakes in millions of dollars from the Arabella Advisors Network, Tides, and the Soros family&rsquo;s Open Society Policy Center. Its affiliated PAC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/?committee_id=C00418897&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2024&amp;data_type=processed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">receives<\/a> funding from high-profile Democrats such as James Murdoch and Ron Conway &mdash; while also attracting the support of the House Majority PAC, which works to elect Democrats to the House.<\/p>\n<p>CREW, the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">left-wing watchdog group<\/a>, has received support in the past from the Democracy Alliance, a secretive club of progressive billionaires and donor-advised funds. One fund, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which steers the wealth of tech moguls, shuffles donations to CREW. <\/p>\n<p>And in the lawsuit, CREW and VoteVets Action Fund are being represented by Democracy Forward. <\/p>\n<p>Democracy Forward reeled in donations in recent years from the Tides Foundation, donor-advised funds  connected to Fidelity and Vanguard, the Arabella Advisors-managed Hopewell Fund, and the philanthropy of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, tax forms show. Omidyar&rsquo;s Democracy Fund supports other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3235838\/billionaire-musk-foe-bankrolls-second-trump-resistance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Trump 2.0 resistance <\/a>efforts through grants to the Governors Action Alliance, the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is all nonsense,&rdquo; said Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV), a freshman House member whom Trump endorsed. &ldquo;If these folks are so concerned about transparency, we had a puppet presidency for the last four years, and they didn&rsquo;t say a word. It didn&rsquo;t bother them whatsoever.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The other transparency lawsuit filed Monday over the DOGE was brought by a nonprofit legal group called the National Security Counselors. The entity, based in Rockville, Maryland, pulled in under $50,000 in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, 2023, according to the IRS tax database. It fundraises <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=QQY2ZQMWC6PX6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">through<\/a> PayPal.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have any big-ticket donors,&rdquo; &#8296;Kel McClanahan&#8297;, the executive director of the National Security Counselors,&rdquo; told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Virtually all of our donors donate small amounts or use their employers&rsquo; charitable matching programs. We don&rsquo;t share the donor list.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Moore said the &ldquo;hypocrisy of the whole situation is really quite laughable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;But,&rdquo; Moore added, &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t expect anything different.&rdquo;<\/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_1942980\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1942980\"}});<\/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>Lawsuits against Trump over transparency issues are backed by dark money<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3639,"featured_media":2394598,"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\/2025\/01\/trump-oval-office-1024x591.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[12577,27910,23466,7976,32779],"class_list":["post-2394597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cryptocurrency","tag-dark-money","tag-doge","tag-lawsuits","tag-legal-issues"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/trump-oval-office-1024x591.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394597","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\/3639"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2394597"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2394601,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394597\/revisions\/2394601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2394598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2394597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2394597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2394597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}