Mysterious Docs Found in Meth House Reveal Inner Workings of Dark Money Group.

Maybe with this out in the open, even though its to late will finally give those that think this is a fair and balanced election, or even that any of them have been will see this for what it is. Maybe we can finally discuss the important issues such as these atrocities that seem to go unnoticed.



There is a show that will be airing on Frontline tomorrow called "Big Sky, Big Money" where this will be discussed, but I wanted to bring it to the attention of ATS, as we can truly uncover things like no other place can.

The boxes landed in the office of Montana investigators in March 2011.

Found in a meth house in Colorado, they were somewhat of a mystery, holding files on 23 conservative candidates in state races in Montana. They were filled with candidate surveys and mailers that said they were paid for by campaigns, and fliers and bank records from outside spending groups. One folder was labeled “Montana $ Bomb.”

The documents pointed to one outside group pulling the candidates’ strings: a social welfare nonprofit called Western Tradition Partnership, or WTP.

Altogether, the records added up to possible illegal “coordination” between the nonprofit and candidates for office in 2008 and 2010, said a Montana investigator and a former Federal Election Commission chairman who reviewed the material. Outside groups are allowed to spend money on political campaigns, but not to coordinate with candidates.

“My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that WTP was running a lot of these campaigns,” said investigator Julie Steab of the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, who initially received the boxes from Colorado.

The boxes were examined by Frontline and ProPublica as part of an investigation into the growing influence on elections of dark money groups, tax-exempt organizations that can accept unlimited contributions and do not have to identify their donors. The documents offer a rare glimpse into the world of dark money, showing how Western Tradition Partnership appealed to donors, interacted with candidates and helped shape their election efforts.

www.pbs.org... ark-money-group/

You may be asking yourself, who is part of this "Dark Money Groups"....


Billionaire David Koch, chairman of the board of the conservative Americans for Prosperity (AFP) advocacy group, attends a 'Cut Spending Now' rally at AFP's 'Defending the American Dream Summit' in Washington on November 5, 2011.

Matt Brooks describes the mission of the Republican Jewish Coalition as educating the Jewish community about critical domestic and foreign policy issues.

But the well-dressed crowd that gathered in May for a luncheon on the 24th floor of a New York law firm easily could have figured that the group had a different purpose: Helping Mitt Romney win the presidency.

Brooks, the group's executive director, showed the 100 or so attendees two coalition-funded ads taking aim at President Barack Obama. Then Brooks made a pitch for a $6.5 million plan to help Romney in battleground states, reminding guests that their donations would not be publicly disclosed by the tax-exempt group.

"Contributions to the RJC are not reported," Brooks told the people sitting around a horseshoe-shaped table. "We don't make our donors' names available. We can take corporate money, personal money, cash, shekels, whatever you got."

The Republican Jewish Coalition and similar organizations enjoy tax-exempt status in exchange for promoting social welfare. In this election, the most expensive in U.S. history, they also have emerged as the primary conduit for anonymous big-money contributions.

Forget super PACs, their much-hyped cousins, which can take unlimited contributions but must name their donors. More money is being spent on TV advertising in the presidential race by social welfare nonprofits, known as 501(c)(4)s for their section of the tax code, than by any other type of independent group.

As of Aug. 8, they had spent more than $71 million on ads mentioning a candidate for president, according to estimates by Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group, or CMAG. Super PACs have spent an estimated $56 million.

Congress created the legal framework for 501(c)(4) nonprofits nearly a century ago. To receive the tax exemption, groups were supposed to be "operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare." The IRS later opened the door to some forms of political activity by interpreting the statute to mean groups had to be "primarily" engaged in enhancing social welfare. But neither the tax code nor regulators set out how this would be measured.

In recent years, Democrats and Republicans alike have seized on that seemingly innocuous wording to create the darkest corner of American political fundraising.

www.propublica.org...

We live in this world, and we think that we are somehow a part of a system. well we are, but as the pawns. We can never be the knight or the king, we can only be pawns, to help the other pieces, the much more "important" pieces finally win the game.

We get conned all day everyday, but when it comes to the hundreds of threads, and the debates about who is more important or who has "our" best interest at heart, we need to look to each other, not them. They have no concern about what we will need over the next few days, forget the next 4 years.

Though this is coming out to the MSM a few days before the election (depending on this storm) it will be to late, but I hope that this will help others be more concerned and aware for who ever will decide to try to treat us as fools, to think again.

Peace, NRE.

Saw David Koch's name
the story did not shock me

The drug war is a hoax, these guys waste all these law enforcement resources to chase red herrings and tie up the courts, with a problem they don't want to be destroyed.

Powerful people see $$$ value in drugs, they see power in drugs, and they won't give either up very easily

That was before the boxes from Colorado turned up.

A convicted felon named Mark Siebel said he stumbled on them inside a known meth house near Denver at some point in late 2010.

It’s not clear how they got there. Siebel said a friend found them in a stolen car. After reading through some of the documents, he reached out to people he thought might be interested in them — primarily Colorado candidates attacked by Western Tradition Partnership. A lawyer married to one of the candidates shipped the boxes off to Montana investigators.

The "evidence" comes from a questionable source. Kind of like the old mafia "it fell off a truck" routine, a convicted felon whose friend "found" it in a stolen car and then shopped the goods around.

My, who thought that convicted felons (who can't vote) and hang around with meth-freak car-thieves were so political?

Yeah, this thing smacks of a set-up.

If any of you are shocked at this then,

Shame on you.

reply to post by GreenGlassDoor


who says they werent payed for some type of service
they may not be motivated by politics but its amazing what a few bucks can get you if you know where to look

The Drug War has never been about stopping drug traffic, it has always been about controlling drug traffic.

This business goes back to a couple hundred years ago at least since the illegal British opium trade with China. This trade apparently has never stopped but has only gotten larger, its top players richer, more powerful, and better hidden. It is about money and power, all undocumented and off-the-books. It is likely the greatest global scam perpetrated against the people. It is the greatest tool now used against us, our privacies, and is a free pass into our livingrooms.

Bump, this is a very important issue.

Peace NRE.

reply to post by NoRegretsEver

We live in this world, and we think that we are somehow a part of a system. well we are, but as the pawns. We can never be the knight or the king, we can only be pawns, to help the other pieces, the much more "important" pieces finally win the game.

Makes me wonder who invented the game of chess. Its an ancient game but was it made as a reminder that we are all pawns on a game board.

It seems your link to Frontline is non-existent.
Perhaps PBS is going to pull this story?
Wouldn't surprise me one little bit.
Great find NRE!
I don't know where or how you come by the stories you do but you always find some good ones that should be in the public eye.
Let's hope PBS has the same courage as you.

I went to PBS and the story is still there
Here's the link - www.pbs.org... ark-money-group/

Seems I can't put up the link either,

I have no clue what happened ATA but I have another link, this link was just fine a few hours ago, Im so sorry here is another link still the exact same story, and still on PBS.

www.pbs.org... ark-money-group/

Just linked it and it works but I cant link it here to ATS, hmmm I never had that problem before. That is weird, I am looking at the page, but when I clicked enter in to the thread, I tried the link and it says mistaken page.

If you would like to find it, all I can say is write Big Sky Big Money PBS, and it will link directly.


Peace, NRE.

reply to post by NoRegretsEver

Though this is coming out to the MSM a few days before the election (depending on this storm) it will be to late, but I hope that this will help others be more concerned and aware for who ever will decide to try to treat us as fools, to think again.

Nice Job on the OP! This is good info unfortunately I have to say it will probably not make much difference as most are fools. It seems not more 10% can be shaken awake to any degree. The rest are happily asleep and ignorant and will even attack you if you try and disturb their status quo to any degree. even if done gently.

How this doesnt upset people to the core, I just dont know. Here are millionaires/billionaires forking over millions of dollars to who has THEIR interest at heart, oh and believe me its not me or you. We are so concerned with money and wealth, and forget that money equals power, they care about money, because it brings more power.

If I came out of a Ferrari with a tiara, and a diamond purse, people would envy my things not what paid for them. We work for money to get more money.... they work ( i use the term work lightly) for money to get more power. We lose focus every 4 years, and of course its made that way, but this is something that should not had been released, and I say good job to PBS as the Koch brothers are large contributors and yet this story is to be released.

Due to the link not working here I will add the most important parts during the rest of the thread.

Peace, NRE.

Lets begin in a very nice spot, by dissecting this the way it needs to be. Lets start with teh Websters dictionary of what a "social welfare group" is.

Webster's New World Dictionary defines the term "social welfare" as "any
service or activity designed to promote the welfare of the community and the
individual, as through counseling services, health clinics, recreation halls and
playgrounds ..." This definition is in alignment with the broad concept of "social
welfare" as provided in section 1.501(c)(4)-(a)(2)(i) of the Income Tax
Regulations. Additionally, the court in Commissioner v. Lake Forest, Inc., stated
that "In short, 'social welfare' is the well-being of persons as a community."
The terms "civic organization" and "social welfare" appear to be defined by
authorities in terms of "community", an equally evasive concept which will be
discussed at length later in this article in the context of Homeowners' Associations.
Because "social welfare" is a vague and elusive term, it has been broadly
interpreted by the courts and the Service.
Organizations exempt under section 501(c)(4) are generally described in one
of the following categories:
1. Nonprofit organizations that traditionally have been labeled
in common parlance as social welfare organizations;
2. Organizations that may be performing some type of public
or community benefit but whose principal feature is lack of
any private benefit or profit;
3. Organizations that would qualify for exemption under
section 501(c)(3) but for a defect in their organizational
instruments or if they were not "action organizations."

Here is the PDF describing the rest of the details.
www.irs.gov...

Now does the definition fit the act?? Does what is being brought to the forefront, actually what the meaning is for social welfare? I say no, but they seem to have found the loophole that qualifies them to use the tax code... oh what a surprise.

Officially, social welfare organizations are classified under Section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, which means they perform some kind of public or community benefit, Overby explains. They include groups like local volunteer fire departments, Rotary International and the League of Women Voters.

"There's this gray area where election law meets tax law," Overby explains. "While the campaigns are disclosing their donors, the superPACs are disclosing their donors, the (c)(4)s do not have to disclose their donors."

Republican strategist Karl Rove, a leader of Crossroads GPS, told Fox News recently why the group can call itself a "social welfare" organization: "It's a social welfare organization because it spends the vast preponderance of its money in furtherance of its social welfare goals. It's an issues advocacy group. For example, it's talking right now about the need to change our policies on spending and debt."

Crossroads GPS, which was formed in 2010, shortly after the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling that loosened some campaign finance regulations, has raised $77 million in its first two years in existence. Overby reports that 90 percent of that came from — at most — 24 donors.

"This is what makes the social welfare organization approach so appealing," Overby explains. "You've got a couple dozen people who are able to play this incredibly powerful role in the election. It's anonymous. Nobody will ever know who they are. Not their business competitors. Not their political rivals. And not the voters."

www.npr.org...

More to come. NRE.

reply to post by NoRegretsEver


I'd like to add this as it is the same people, money, and groups.

Here are a few that have been making false claims, and since gotten away with it.

On the very day in 2008 that the American Future Fund mailed its application to the IRS, checking the box for "no" on whether it planned to participate in politics, it uploaded an ad to YouTube praising a Republican senator. The group reported more than $8 million in political spending in 2010.

One group, the Center for Individual Freedom, told election officials that it spent $2.5 million on ads in 2010, when it paid for commercials criticizing Democrats in 10 districts. But it reported to the IRS that it spent nothing to directly or indirectly influence elections, calling those same ads "education" or "legislative activities."

For example, almost 70 percent of America's Families First's 2010 expenditures went to grants to five social welfare nonprofits. Four spent money on ads supporting Democrats or criticizing Republicans, including one group that put almost half of its expenditures into political ads.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, though formed in 1985, in many ways epitomizes the new breed of political-minded social welfare nonprofits.

The group's initial IRS application said it would not engage in politics, yet its 2010 tax return says it gave almost $3.8 million to other groups for political activities.

Separately, the Republican Jewish Coalition told the FEC it spent more than $1.1 million on political ads, money that wasn't reported to the IRS. Together, the grants and the political advertising made up almost 40 percent of the total expenditures of the group, which is chaired by GOP super donor and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

Here are the site included in the above, look through them, and see if this seems correct.
America Future Fund
americanfuturefund.com...

Center for Individual Freedom.
cfif.org...

America Families First
americasfamiliesfirstaf.com...

Republican Jewish Coalition
www.rjchq.org...

Americans for Prosperity
americansforprosperity.org...

Revere American Association
revereamerica.org...

All of the above and more can be found here. www.propublica.org...#

Peace, NRE.

This is what the U.S. has become these days. The usual suspects will be here soon to tell you how the Democrats do it too as if that somehow makes any of this ok (and they do, and it doesn't make it ok). This is what you get when you enthrone the Rich and bow to their interests. No one will ever be punished for these kind of crimes. It's ok to peddle influence. No one cares as long as it's their team doing it.

I've just given up really.

Oh and if you click of shows A-Z then frontline the information NRE posted is there. The link just isn't working for some reason. article?

Tell me if it doesn't work. It's a long link which may be why a simple copy and past isn't working

Food for thought, I did a thread a week or so ago, I will link it, about the importance of the words"America" and "America(n)" and if people understood the difference, I really hope that people will see what this is all about.


American vs. Americans.

DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN???
Why would there be a confusion over what is going on? Do you think that they are mistaking what they mean? Do you think that this "political madness" has something to do with you? This is actually false. What we are watching, debating, discussing is one time every 4 years we are asked to decide, and partake in a boardroom meeting, that is usually (for the rest of the 4 years until we get involved again), held behind closed doors.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Of course as no surprise this will be overlooked, I am happy that even if people just enjoy debating about non-issues then that's understandable ( I guess), but this cannot be taken lightly.. not in the least.

Peace, NRE.

www.pbs.org...
this link may work

We are all aware (hopefully) on programming, but what I find the most interesting is that many of these millions of dollars on campaign ads only play in the states of their choosing, I am currently looking into the campaign ads that for the most part may or not be targeting your state, but are fear mongering at its best!!

Here is one from the Republican Jewish Coalition.


Americans For Prosperity.


Amazingly these 2 are all I can find right now. It might be due to only having them play in certain areas, but they are interesting, and being played non stop in the US. I am still looking though.

Peace, NRE.

reply to post by tinhattribunal


Thank you very much, your link is working

Peace, NRE.