Whether you call it a “527 committee,” an “independent expenditure-only committee” or a “super PAC,” the conservative outfit American Crossroads continued to demonstrate its fund-raising prowess in August.

The political operation reported raising more than $2.6 million in August — and has now raised more than $9.34 million* between January and August — according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of campaign finance reports filed today.

The group’s latest bankrollers include two corporations — one of which is a Fortune 500 company — and three wealthy Texans. Such donations demonstrate how a few key players may now, in the aftermath of major federal court decisions, significantly affect the fortunes of certain political interests.

In its latest campaign finance report, American Crossroads reported the following receipts:

Name Amount Location Trevor Rees-Jones,

president & CEO of Chief Oil & Gas $1,000,000 Dallas, Texas Robert Rowling, CEO of TRT Holdings $1,000,000 Irving, Texas American Financial Group $400,000 Cincinnati, Ohio John M. Peterman,

CEO of White Peterman Properties $50,000 Crown Point, Ind. William Harte, investor $50,000 San Antonio, Texas Thomas E. Jeckering, retired $30,000 Gates Mill, Ohio Sam Fox, Chairman & CEO

of the Harbour Group Limited $25,000 St. Louis, Mo. Augusta Petrone, homemaker $20,000 Dublin, N.H. Daniels Manufacturing Corp. $15,000 Orlando, Fla. Daniel Webster, retired $10,000 Fort Myers Beach, Fla.

Harte earlier this year gave the group an additional $50,000. Rowlings’ company, TRT Holdings, similarly, directly contributed $1 million to American Crossroads earlier this year.

Rees-Jones’ $1 million contribution to American Crossroads is his second*, although the first to be reported to the FEC. His first donation was previously reported only to the Internal Revenue Service, said American Crossroads spokesman Jonathan Collegio.

American Financial Group is a holding company whose primary business is insurance and investments. It is a Fortune 500 company and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Daniels Manufacturing Corp. develops technology for the aerospace, military and telecommunications industries, according to its website. The company has received about $50 million in federal contracts since fiscal year 2000, including more than $4 million this year, according to government records.

Top conservatives, including former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie and former Bush strategist Karl Rove, helped establish American Crossroads earlier this year. The group, which some have called the “shadow RNC” and “the Republican answer to George Soros’ money,” is headed by Steven Law, a top GOP operative.

Law formerly worked as President George W. Bush’s Deputy Labor Secretary, counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, executive director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee and chief of staff for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who currently serves as the minority leader in the Senate.

These reported $2.6 million in contributions are really just the tip of the iceberg.

American Crossroads also features an affiliated 501(c)4 nonprofit arm known as Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies. Since Crossroads GPS organized under the 501(c)4 section of U.S. tax code, it is declaring that its primary purpose is the “promotion of social welfare” and not partisan politics. As such, it is not required by law to disclose any information about its donors.

During the past 30 days, Crossroads GPS and American Crossroads raised a combined $14.5 million, according to the Associated Press. There is no way to verify that number until after the election, as Crossroads GPS does not have to report its income to the Internal Revenue Service until next spring.

American Crossroads is a tax-exempt group organized under section 527 of U.S. tax code, created to primarily influence elections. In July, the group registered with the Federal Election Commission as an independent expenditure-only committee and now reports its income and expenditures to the FEC on a monthly basis, as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported.

It is one of more than two dozen groups to register with the FEC as an independent expenditure-only committee, as OpenSecrets Blog has previously written about on numerous occasions. These “super PACs” are established for the explicit purpose of making independent expenditures in races, for example, running advertisements overtly telling voters to support or defeat specific candidates. These groups do not make direct contributions to candidates.

American Crossroads reported spending $454,341 on independent expenditures in August — all TV advertisements supporting former President George W. Bush cabinet member Rob Portman, a Republican running for U.S. Senate in Ohio.

The group also reported spending $108,370 on “survey and polling” in August and $21,745 on “donor solicitation,” according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of the group’s most recent filing. Overall, it spent $772,597 in August.

For its part, Crossroads GPS is funding ads critical of Democratic politicians in several other competitive races. The groups have pledged to spend more than $50 million influencing the election in November.

During previous election cycles, federal rules limited how much money PACs could collect from individuals. It was illegal to collect more than $5,000 per person, per year. Corporations were also barred from making donations to groups from their treasuries, nor could they spend money on political messages that expressly advocated for or against specific candidates.

But recent federal legal rulings — including Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission — have changed that.

Committees such as American Crossroads may now collect unlimited, “soft money” sums from individuals — as well as corporations, trade associations, unions and other groups.

The only restrictions? The groups can’t use that money to make direct contributions to candidates, and they can’t coordinate their expenditures with any candidates’ campaigns.

* Update 9/21: The original report has been updated for clarity. American Crossroads’ most recent campaign finance filing shows that it has raised $7.93 million between January and August. However, additional reporting by OpenSecrets Blog has confirmed that this sum does not include the $1.4 million it raised and spent while reporting to the IRS.

Some donations, including the first $1 million contributed by Trevor D. Rees-Jones, were reported only to the IRS — and were not required to be reported to the FEC because they had already been spent.

Thus, the total $9.34 million we report that American Crossroads has raised includes not only the $7.93 million included in the group’s FEC filings, but also the $1.4 million reported only to the IRS.

“When we switched from IRS to FEC reporting on July 31, as requested by the FEC, the early contributions that were reported on the IRS filings but already spent were not required to be reported in the new FEC filings,” American Crossroads spokesman Jonathan Collegio told OpenSecrets Blog. “So [the first $1 million from Rees-Jones] doesn’t show up in the aggregate.”



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