Adam Parkhomenko (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

“The United States has been compromised.”

So reads the ominous landing page of Cyber War Room, a new PAC incorporated last Wednesday with the self-stated mission of “dominating” online political discourse and “turning the Citizens United decision upside down on its head.”

The PAC, which filed its statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission on May 29, says it hopes to attract a large base of recurring small donors in its efforts to raise awareness of investigations facing the Trump administration and counter what it sees as the “lies” of the president and his allies.

The group has already begun to attract a significant online following, attaining more than 5,600 followers in the eight days since creating its Twitter account. Its first tweet, a cryptic video showing media clips of “criminals in the White House,” has been retweeted more than 1,600 times.



The group is spearheaded by a number of prominent former Democratic advisers. The organization’s most high-profile member is Adam Parkhomenko, a former Clinton staffer who worked as the national field director for the Democratic National Committee in 2016. Parkhomenko led numerous pro-Clinton and Democratic PACs, founding and serving as executive director for Ready for Hillary from 2013-2014 and Party Majority PAC since 2018.

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Parkhomenko found himself embroiled in legal controversy surrounding his role at Ready for Hillary following multiple FEC complaints from conservative groups. An FEC complaint from an anti-Clinton PAC accused Ready for Hillary of illegally coordinating with Clinton’s official campaign following Ready PAC’s payment of more than $135,000 to Friends of Hillary for the one-time use of an email list. The complaint was dismissed in 2015 in a 3-3 split decision, with the FEC’s three Democrat-appointed commissioners voting to open a probe and three Republican-appointed voting to dismiss. Ready for Hillary became the subject of another complaint in 2015 alleging additional illegal coordination with the campaign that was also dismissed in a split vote in 2019.

Parkhomenko, who describes himself as a spokesperson for Cyber War Room, told OpenSecrets that the group is a hybrid PAC, enabling it to function both as a traditional PAC contributing directly to candidates and as a super PAC collecting unlimited contributions earmarked for independent expenditures. He didn’t respond to questions about which specific candidates and campaigns the group plans to support.

Holly Kinnamon, the organization’s treasurer, served as the national media coordinator for Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign and worked as senior adviser at the Treasury Department during the Clinton administration. Between 2010 and 2015, she worked as a lobbyist for State Farm Insurance. She was unavailable to comment for this story.

The group recently raised small-money donations to buy a full-page advertisement in the Washington Post featuring Jared Kushner’s head bordered by text accusing the senior adviser of privately communicating with Saudi crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman despite the prince’s involvement with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The ad also claims the U.S. has been “compromised” and declares that “it’s time to take our country back.” Parkhomenko said on Twitter that 613 donors have thus far contributed a total of $7,377 toward the initiative.

Correction: This story’s language has been updated to reflect that Ms. Kinnamon was unavailable for comment rather than declining to comment.



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