Inspired by the news that @Intel may have pledged to stop funding white nationalist congressman Steve King (though as far as I know, has not asked for their donation to be returned), let's take a deep dive into where Steve King gets his funding, courtesy of the FEC website
-
Show this thread
-
American election law requires that all donations be disclosed, so you can follow along with the complete list of King's 2017-18 donations here:https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&data_type=processed&committee_id=C00373563&min_date=01%2F01%2F2017&max_date=10%2F28%2F2018 …
1 reply 2 retweets 9 likesShow this thread -
Sorting by amount given, you'll see that one of King's key donors is MAJORITY COMMITTEE PAC, or MC-PAC. This is what's called a leadership PAC—discretionary money controlled by another member of congress, in this case Kevin McCarthy, the guy in trouble today for his Soros tweet
1 reply 6 retweets 10 likesShow this thread -
Where does MC-PAC get its money? Well, among other things, from big tech companies who would rather not be caught supporting King directly, but are happy to do it through intermediaries. Tech companies understand the value of indirect pointers!pic.twitter.com/MhAknziEzE
1 reply 6 retweets 14 likesShow this thread -
Another big backer of King's campaign is JOHN BOLTON PAC (not to be confused with MICHAEL BOLTON PAC), a creature of our mustachioed national security advisor. BOLTON PAC gave King the maximum allowed $10,000, which it looks like it raises from direct mailhttps://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?two_year_transaction_period=2018&data_type=processed&committee_id=C00542431&min_date=01%2F01%2F2017&max_date=10%2F28%2F2018 …
1 reply 3 retweets 9 likesShow this thread -
Dismaying but not surprising are two large donations from KOCH INDUSTRIES, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (KOCHPAC) and NATIONAL PRO-LIFE ALLIANCE PAC, which both gave King five grand.
1 reply 3 retweets 10 likesShow this thread -
Another $5K came in from HAWKEYE PAC, which is a leadership PAC associated with Iowa senator Chuck Grassley. This PAC is also heavily subsidized by tech industry money.pic.twitter.com/vFx4ebcjAg
2 replies 2 retweets 6 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @Pinboard
Does this mean a company like Microsoft can effectively donate an unlimited amount to a single candidate by donating indirectly through separate PACs?
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
Not an unlimited amount, and the rules around political action committees are complicated. But it can certainly be the case that more money arrives indirectly than by direct donation
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.