Billionaires Backing North Carolina Election Denier, Trump Super PAC Shells Out

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Today we look at billionaires backing the campaign of election denier Ted Budd and beneficiaries of a super PAC allied with former President Donald Trump.

Meet The Out-Of-State Billionaires Supporting An Election Denier In North Carolinas Senate Race

Election denier Ted Budd is facing off against Democrat Cheri Beasley in a contest that could help determine which party controls the US Senate. Billionaires are lining up to support Budd, even though some of them barely know his name, reports Matt Durot:

Ted Budd, the Republican running for senate in North Carolina, is not much of a national figure. His race, however, has national importance, as one of the few senate contests seen as a tossup in this years midterm elections. No wonder tycoons from across the country are funneling millions of dollars through super PACs to support Budd, one of the 147 Republicans that voted against certifying President Biden’s election. The biggest donors are familiar names. Richard Uihlein, the Illinois-based packaging billionaire, donated $29 million to a group named Club For Growth Action, which, in turn, pumped $7.7 million into efforts to support Budd, roughly 13% of its spending so far. Trading titan Jeff Yass, of Pennsylvania, put $16.5 million into Club For Growth Action, making him another one of Budd’s biggest backers. Other well-known donors injected money into the race via a Republican super PAC called the Senate Leadership Fund. Miami-based trading tycoon Ken Griffin and New York private equity pioneer Stephen Schwarzman each gave that group $20 million. Illinois insurer Patrick Ryan donated another $14 million alongside his wife, Shirley. Las Vegas heiress Miriam Adelson, whose late husband Sheldon was once the biggest GOP donor in America, gave $10 million. In all, 18 billionaires not from North Carolina contributed 43% of the money sitting in the Senate Leadership Fund. The group has doled out $29 million, or 16% of its expenditures, to support Budd, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings.

Citadel’s Ken Griffin and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman.

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In Case You Missed It Trump-Aligned Super PAC Spends Big On Trump Customers

A super PAC allied with the former president spent $1.9 million on ads Monday in support of three Republican Senate candidates who had previously funneled $290,000 to Trump properties.

MAGA Inc. bought ads backing Adam Laxalt in Nevada, Blake Masters in Arizona and Herschel Walker in Georgia. All have spent political funds at a Trump business, according to records with the Federal Election Commission. Trump’s group also donated another $1.7 million to support Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and JD Vance in Ohio, who have not reported spending campaign cash at the former president’s properties.

Walker’s political committees have funneled more money to Trump’s business than those of almost any other candidate, shelling out $219,000 in total.

Laxalt, a former attorney general of Nevada, has directed $41,000 of political funds to Trump businesses. He is the only one of the three candidates with a Trump property in his state, but he has not reported spending any money at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas. Instead, he split his campaign spending between Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. and Trumps former hotel in Washington, DC

Peter Thiels protege and beneficiary, Blake Masters, spent $30,000 on catering at Mar-a-Lago last November.

Asked about the spending blitz, a spokesperson for MAGA Inc. called the inquiry absurd and absolutely sophomoric.

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Federal Election Commission/Team Herschel Inc. and 34N22 Inc. Continuing Irresolutions

Updates on Checks & Imbalances previous reporting

The pro-life Women Speak Out super PAC spent another $573,000 on ads in support of Herschel Walker this past week. Women Speak Out and the National Right to Life Victory Fund have now spent a total of $793,000 on behalf of the Georgia Republican since allegations were first reported that he had encouraged and paid for his girlfriend to get an abortion.

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The campaign for Rep. Steve Palazzo (R-Miss.) paid the attorneys representing him in a House ethics inquiry another $13,000 in July, according to an FEC report filed last week. The campaign has paid Palazzos attorneys a total of $100,000.

In August 2020, the Office of Congressional Ethics found substantial reason to believe that Palazzo used campaign funds for personal use. The nonpartisan office referred the case to the House Ethics Committee, which, as of March 2021, was still investigating. Palazzo lost his primary in June.

Federal Judge: Trump Committed Fraud By Pushing False Voting Claims Despite Knowing The Truth

A federal judge suggested Wednesday that former President Donald Trump committed criminal fraud by knowingly making false voting claims under oath, with the judge ordering a Trump attorney to turn over documents to the January 6 Committee because they were made in furtherance of a crime, reports Alison Durkee.

US District Judge David Carter ordered John Eastman, a right-wing attorney and legal scholar who aided Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, to turn over 33 documents to the House committee by October 28 (out of 561 that Eastman claimed were privileged). Eight of the emails had to be turned over because of a crime-fraud exception, which applies when documents are covered by attorney-client privilege but a client consults an attorney for advice that will serve [them] in the commission of a fraud or crime, or when the documents themselves are sufficiently related to and were made in furtherance of the crime.

Then-President Donald Trump arrives to speak to supporters from The Ellipse near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021.

AFP via Getty ImagesTracking Trump

Forbes continues to update Tracking Trump: A Rundown Of All The Lawsuits And Investigations Involving The Former President.

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Forbes

The House January 6 Committee formally issued a subpoena to former President Donald Trump Friday, requesting the ex-president to testify to the committee and turn over documents and likely setting up a lengthy court battle if Trump refuses to comply with the subpoena, as is expected, reports Alison Durkee.

The subpoena requests Trump provide the committee with documents by November 4 and testify to lawmakers ‘beginning on or about’ November 14.”

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House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol

The Republican candidate for Senate in Connecticut, Leora Levy, held a $1,000 per person fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. The former president attended.

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Facebook/Kimberly Salib Trumps Save America Joint Fundraising Committee still has copies of Jared Kushners best-selling memoir, according to a solicitation email with Ivanka Trumps name on it that was sent Wednesday. Mar-a-Lago classified papers held US secrets about Iran and China (The Washington Post) Trumps Mar-a-Lago fundraising boost came with big costs (Politico) 16 times Donald Trumps political action committees promised worthless rewards for a donation (Insider) Editors Picks As Covid Hit, Washington Officials Traded Stocks With Exquisite Timing (The Wall Street Journal) The $1 Million Amazon Conflict: Washingtons Ethics Czars Struggle to Enforce Stock-Trading Laws (The Wall Street Journal) Tobacco companies shower Black Democrats with campaign cash ( Stat) Secretary of State investigating pro-Herschel Walker group that gave out gas, grocery vouchers” (11 Alive) Ethics disclosures ignored by 4 of North Carolinas congressional candidates (The Greensboro News & Record) Former City of Atlanta Official Convicted for Accepting Bribes ( Department of Justice) Mehmet Oz said he wouldn’t take corporate PAC money. Then he did. (The Philadelphia Inquirer) Following Supreme Court decision, self-funding c candidates are using campaign funds to pay themselves back (OpenSecrets) Mike Bloomberg takes different approach to funding Democrats this year (The Washington Post) RAGA Discloses $3.7 Million in Third-Quarter Revenue with the General Election Just Weeks Away (Center for Media and Democracy) Alaska First, a pro-Kelly Tshibaka super PAC that had raised less than $50,000 between its formation in March 2021 and three weeks ago, drops $1.2 million in ads in #AKSen opposing Lisa Murkowski and supporting Tshibaka. (Twitter/Rob Pyers of California Target Book) ULINE CEO Pours Another $7.1 Million Into His Restoration PAC to Boost Anti-Abortion and Right-Wing Candidates and Causes (Center for Media and Democracy) Billionaire Ronald Lauder gives $1 million to GOP group supporting state candidates who questioned 2020 election results (CNBC) Crypto PACs backed by Sam Bankman-Fried, Scaramucci plan last-minute ad blitz for midterm elections (CNBC) Sean Hannitys million-dollar in-kind contribution to the GOP (The Washington Post) The final two remaining charity ScamPACs operated by Las Vegas PD Officer William Pollock and his wife, Kecia, have filed their termination statements with the FEC. (Twitter/Rob Pyers of California Target Book) Crypto Council hires Akin Gump, Covington signs Kia (Politico) Sen. Boozman LD moves to university federal relations (LegiStorm) Video shows governor hopeful Dan Cox accepting gift from Md. Proud Boys (The Washington Post) In Closing

You may be an ambassador to England or France

You might like to gamble, you might like to dance

You may be the heavyweight champion of the world

You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But youre gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed

Youre gonna have to serve somebody

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

Bob Dylan, Gotta Serve Somebody

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