There’s been talk about dark money during the nomination process of Judge Neil Gorsuch. The eminently qualified jurist who was picked to fill the vacancy left by the late Antonin Scalia had to answer questions from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) about these ties. Gorsuch knew nothing other than what he read in the papers. He wasn’t quarterbacking these ad campaigns or these expenditures, which by the way—are acts of free speech. And yes, left wingers, there are liberal dark money groups, some of which are opposed to the nomination of Neil Gorsuch. To add another level of sketchiness, this group failed to disclose their donors. Bill McMorris of the Washington Free Beacon had more:
One of the leading liberal groups behind the campaign against Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch refused to disclose its donors.
The Constitutional Responsibility Project (CRP) was created by several leading figures in President Obama's re-election campaign in March 2016 to boost the nomination of Washington D.C. appeals court Judge Merrick Garland. After the group failed to pressure Senate Republicans to confirm Garland, it set its sights on Gorsuch, a judge in Colorado's 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The group has produced several ads attacking the nomination and the Trump administration as part of a reported "seven-figure ad campaign against Gorsuch" airing nationwide with additional airtime purchased in Arizona and Nevada.
"We need a justice that protects everyone, not just the wealthy or powerful," one ad says.
The CRP, a 501c4 group, has also echoed Democratic critiques on Gorsuch's "troubling views on big money in politics." The group, however, fails to disclose the identities of its donors behind the multi-million dollar effort to shoot down the nomination. CRP spokesman Josh Dorner, a vice president at liberal public affairs giant SKD Knickerbocker, did not return request for comment about whether CRP will disclose its donors.
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I guess so-called dark money and transparency concerns are only relevant when a Republican is in the White House. In other words, it must be a day that ends in “y.”
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