OPENSECRETS NEWS
Kavanaugh confirmation battle further mystifies ‘dark money’ spending
By Anna Massoglia
September 27, 2018
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/09/kavanaugh-confirmation-dark-money/
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At the helm of the money race is the Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), a non-disclosing 501(c)(4) nonprofit that has funneled millions of dollars in support of Kavanaugh’s confirmation as the next Supreme Court justice.
Anonymous donors pumping big money into Supreme Court nominations is nothing new, and this is not JCN’s first rodeo.
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JCN first came on the scene in 2005 to promote President George W. Bush’s nominations to the high court as Judicial Confirmation Network before rebranding the “C” its name to stand for “crisis” and attacking President Barack Obama’s nominees.
Tax returns obtained by the Center for Responsive Politics in 2017 revealed that JCN has continued to be primarily funded by the Wellspring Committee, another nondisclosing politically active nonprofit, which is linked to Ann and Neil Corkery’s network of conservative “dark money” groups organized to influence public policy.
Leonard Leo, the Federalist Society’s executive vice president who has played a key role in Trump’s Supreme Court nominations, orchestrated finances related to the network and is also linked to BH Group, a mysterious LLC that donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee.
Becoming a key ‘dark money’ conduit for conservatives to funnel millions of dollars into Supreme Court battles while keeping their identities secret, JCN has established itself the preeminent advocate of conservative contenders for the U.S. Supreme Court as well as in key state supreme court races and attorneys general elections.
Long before Kavanaugh was a blip on the radar of most Americans, Judicial Crisis Network had already begun spending to secure the path to the next Supreme Court seat, announcing a multi-million dollar ad buy on the day Kennedy announced his retirement.
Following its tried and true playbook to help marshal support for conservative nominees to the federal bench, JCN launched its first ad backing Kavanaugh by name within minutes of the announcement of his nomination — before President Trump even finished speaking.
In earlier Supreme Court battles, JCN reportedly spent $7 million to block the confirmation of Merrick Garland and $10 million to support the confirmation of Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. Matching their promised spending on Gorsuch, JCN pledged to spend another $10 million on Kavanaugh.
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https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/campaign-wire-2018-midterms/card/1538401393
The Wall Street Journal
October 1, 2018
Conservative Groups Launch TV Ads Supporting Judge Kavanaugh
WHILE THE SENATE HAS PAUSED its confirmation process, four conservative groups are out with new TV advertisements urging the addition of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
The commercials made their debuts in the days after Christine Blasey Ford told a Senate committee that Judge Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers and are airing as the Federal Bureau of Investigation probes those and other allegations, which Judge Kavanaugh has denied.
The most politically charged of the ads is a 30-second spot by Citizens United, a nonprofit group steered by David Bossie, a longtime ally of President Trump. “Liberal Democrats will stop at nothing to smear him,” a narrator says of Judge Kavanaugh. It goes on to make claims about three Democratic Senate Judiciary Committee members and asks, “Whose values belong on the Supreme Court? Judge Kavanaugh’s? Or these liberal Democrats’?"
FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION RECORDS SHOW the group is spending at least $250,000 on the spot. Mr. Bossie didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Another pro-Trump nonprofit group, America First Policies, spent about $150,000 on an ad that began airing Friday across the country on Fox News. That ad urges viewers to “call the Senate and tell them this is no time for obstructionist politics. It’s time to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.” An America First official said the group would evaluate Monday whether to continue airing the 30-second spot.
Two other groups, 45Committee and Great America PAC, also have new ads on the air. The minute-long 45Committee ad features women who know Judge Kavanaugh speaking in support of him at a recent news conference.
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