DC lawyer Dan Backer has pioneered a model that uses hyperpartisan news sites to drive donations, petition sign-ups, and publicity for his PACs.

American Action News

Two days before James Comey testified in front of the Senate intelligence committee, a pro-Trump group called Great America Alliance released an ad attacking the former FBI director. The ad was covered by several media outlets, including a conservative news website, American Action News. It published a story headlined, “BREAKING: Pro-Trump Group ATTACKS Comey.” The article largely consisted of three paragraphs copied word-for-word from the Washington Examiner, with one key exception: the top and bottom of the AAN article included prominent links to the donation page for the very same Great America Alliance. “***SUPPORT GREAT AMERICA ALLIANCE'S EFFORTS TO DEFEND THE PRESIDENT. CLICK HERE***” read the link text. It’s rare for a news report about a political organization’s attack ad to contain a link to that same organization's donation site. But this wasn't the first time AAN had done this. A BuzzFeed News review of AAN’s content found it has published at least 34 news articles containing prominent links to the donation page for Great America Alliance or its affiliated super PAC, Great America PAC. AAN also published at least two articles that solicited donations for the Stop Hillary PAC, neither of which contained a sponsorship disclosure. Those three groups — Great America PAC, Great America Alliance, and Stop Hillary PAC— have been in some way cited or promoted in more than 110 articles on AAN, dating back to 2015. Of those articles, just 11 contained a label informing readers that the content was sponsored. (Click here to view a spreadsheet listing AAN articles that cite these groups, and other related PACs or organizations.) Although it isn't disclosed to readers, the PACs and AAN share a key person in common: a DC-area lawyer named Dan Backer who is an outspoken opponent of campaign finance rules that limit money in politics. Backer is notorious in Washington for filing paperwork on behalf of a slew of PACs that popped up at the height of the tea party movement. Some of those grassroots conservative groups have come under fire for spending little of what they raise on political activity, causing some Republicans to label them “scam PACs.” Backer is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in creating and funding hybrid PACs, merging traditional PACs with super PACs that can raise and spend unlimited money.

And now it seems he’s pioneered a model that utilizes the popularity of hyperpartisan news to drive donations, petition sign-ups, and general publicity for his PACs — largely without telling the reader that the website and PACs all trace back to the same person. The toxins in the American political bloodstream are being produced by click-minded teenagers in Macedonia, propagandists in Moscow, and, most of all, devoted partisans all over the United States. But at a moment of hand-wringing in Washington about deep and dangerous partisan divisions, Backer's empire of aggressive PACs and digital media sheds light on another source: Beltway political operators using hyperpartisan vitriol to generate tens of millions of dollars in donations and website revenue.

Political.law The website of Dan Backer's law firm

In email exchanges and a 30-minute phone conversation, Backer repeatedly evaded specific questions about the overlap BuzzFeed News found between the conservative news websites linked to him and his PACs, and said it was “generous” to refer to him as a pioneer.

“If you want to spin those random threads of information to make me out to be a younger, hopefully better looking, Steve Bannon, well thanks – it’s good to be recognized for helping clients succeed,” Backer said in one email exchange. He did not answer questions about money disbursed to AAN by the PACs he’s involved with. “These are not my sites, they are clients,” he said. Backer said he helped start AAN years ago, but sold it in 2014 to new owners he declined to name. When asked for more information about the owners and AAN, Backer cited attorney-client privilege and said he had signed a non-disclosure agreement. “I’m not going to disclose anything — who owns it, who funds it," he said. Domain ownership records list American Action News LLC as the registrant and administrative contact of AmericanActionNews.com, and Virginia corporate records list Dan Backer as the registered agent for American Action News LLC. Federal Election Commission records list Backer as the treasurer of Great America PAC, which transfers a chunk of its donations to its affiliated nonprofit, Great America Alliance. Backer insisted that he is simply the lawyer working with the new owner(s) of American Action News, and of five other conservative news sites BuzzFeed News connected to Backer, his company, and/or AAN via public domain registration records, IP addresses, and Google AdSense and Analytics IDs. “I provide legal services to them because it’s a unique, niche field,” he said. “But I’m not the owner of [the sites].” Backer also suggested that any inquiries regarding the news websites was a way for BuzzFeed News to attack “an emerging competitor” by picking on “these little guys and ... sqaush [sic] their hopes and dreams.” Backer said any relationship or exchange of funds between AAN and any of his political groups is merely coincidental. “I’m more than happy to introduce my clients to one another,” he said, noting that he “would certainly disclose all potential conflicts.” Although he insists he no longer owns AAN, Backer and his PACs receive incredibly favorable coverage from the website. FEC records also show that AAN received just over $40,000 in revenue from four different PACs connected to Backer in 2015–16. Many of the disbursements were for email list rentals, “online advocacy,” or “online advertising.” Just over $24,000 of that money came from the Tea Party Leadership Fund, a PAC with which Backer has been involved since 2012, according to the group’s statement of organization. As with the Great America PAC and Great America Alliance, the Tea Party Leadership Fund has had news articles published on AAN about its activities. The pattern is clear: Each time Backer gets involved with a new PAC, it soon starts appearing in articles on AAN.

BuzzFeed The homepages of American Action News, Trump Train News, and American Update.