

Donald Trump was not the top presidential pick for Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm accused of improperly harvesting data from over 50 million Facebook users on behalf of the Trump campaign.

The firm, bankrolled by conservative hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, was paid nearly $6 million over 19 transactions by Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign before receiving as much as a single payment from Trump.

It was not until a week after the Republican National Convention that Cambridge Analytica and the Trump campaign began a financial relationship — days after Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah publicly rebuked Cruz for refusing to endorse Trump at the convention.

The Mercers’ statement chastised Cruz for the non-endorsement, saying Republicans would need “‘all hands on deck’ to ensure that Mr. Trump prevails” against a Democratic challenger in Hillary Clinton who “would repeal both the First and Second Amendments of the Bill of Rights.”

Keep the Promise I, Mercer’s pro-Cruz PAC which later rebranded as Make America Number 1 when he switched his allegiance to Trump, made 118 payments to Cambridge Analytica between November 2015 and December 2016 — amounting to just under $5.7 million.

Make America Number 1 pumped nearly $4.4 million into attacks on Clinton in the general election but not before spending almost $6 million in support of Cruz during the primary. It also spent over $93,000 bashing Trump — running ads ahead of the Iowa caucus that questioned Trump’s conservatism and showcased his previous outspoken support of abortion.

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Overall, the roughly $5.7 million that Make America Number 1 gave Cambridge Analytica in the 2016 cycle made it the firm’s third largest vendor behind the Trump campaign ($5.9 million) and the Cruz campaign ($5.8 million). These three entities accounted for 87 percent of the money the firm reported being paid for political activity in the 2016 cycle.

Earlier this week, Cruz denied he had prior knowledge of Cambridge Analytica’s alleged methods of relying on personality tests to harvest information on respondents’ unwitting Facebook friends — maintaining that the firm conveyed to his campaign that all its data was obtained legally.

“Cambridge Analytica represented to the campaign that all data in their possession were legally obtained and that they were in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,” Cruz told The Texas Tribune.

Cruz, who is currently locked in a competitive race to retain his Senate seat, has been outraised so far in 2018 by his opponent, Beto O’Rourke. Texas Democrats have already taken the opportunity to berate Cruz for his ties to Cambridge Analytica.

“Ted Cruz will stop at nothing to weasel his way into power, even if it means weaponizing stolen information to manipulate people to like him,” said a spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Party.



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