(Alfred Gescheidt/Getty Images)

Former “dark money” giant Americans for Job Security has walked out from the shadows, disclosing its donors last week following years of complaints and lawsuits filed by ethics watchdogs.

Between 2010 and 2012, the group raked in at least $65 million from billionaires, corporations and nebulous groups that don’t disclose their own sources of funding, recent filings show. Many of the group’s top donors have now lined up behind President Donald Trump, cutting big checks to his reelection bid.

The now-defunct conservative group was largely active in the 2012 election cycle, spending $15.2 million on political ads attacking then-Democratic President Barack Obama during his reelection bid. The group also spent almost $5 million on independent expenditures in the 2010 cycle targeting Democrats and promoting Republicans in congressional races.

Between late 2011 and 2012, the group gave out $26.3 million in grants, most of which went to the Center to Protect Patient Rights, another dark money group with close ties to the Koch brothers.

Americans for Job Security’s political activities triggered a 2012 complaint by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning watchdog group, alleging that the conservative business league acted — yet failed to register — as a political committee. The recent disclosure was prompted by several lawsuits the ethics group filed against the Federal Election Commission over the years and a September agreement requiring the dark money group to register as a political committee and reveal its donors.

“This is a major victory for transparency and the rule of law,” said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the watchdog group, in a press release. “This is the first major release of dark money sources in the post-Citizens United era, a rare and long overdue victory in the fight against the illegal use of dark money in politics.”

Among the group’s biggest donors are billionaires with a history of bankrolling conservative causes, records show.

Donor(s) Total Given (2010-2012) Charles Schwab $8,800,000 John J. Fisher $5,000,000 Center to Protect Patient Rights $4,645,000 Hensel Phelps Construction $2,930,000 William Fisher $2,000,000 Rosebush Corp $2,000,000 Richard & Helen Devos $2,000,000 Doris Fisher $2,000,000 Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies $2,000,000 Workforce Fairness Institute $1,500,000 Devon Energy Production Corp $1,500,000 Devon Energy $1,500,000 Involve America $1,400,000 Retail Industry Leaders Assn $1,361,000 Michigan Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility $1,123,000 Geoffrey H. Palmer $1,100,000 Robert McNair $1,000,000 Robert Fisher $1,000,000 Eli Broad $1,000,000 Continental Resources $1,000,000 Beal Bank $1,000,000 G.H. Palmer and Associates $850,000 Gene Haas $800,000 U.S. Sugar Corp $750,000 Penn National Gaming $737,000 DCI Group, LLC $598,000 Select Management Resources $590,000 James Heavener $575,000 Wynn Resorts $500,000 Peter Thiel $500,000 New Majority CA $500,000 Margaret Bloomfield $500,000 John Scully $500,000 Horizon Fremon Investors $500,000 Greg and Carrie Penner $500,000 Fair Oaks Finance $500,000 Brian Harvey $500,000 Wayne Hughes $450,000 Jesse and Mindy Rogers $450,000 California American Council of Engineering Companies $400,000 Wellspring Cmte $346,098 Mentzer Media Services $321,562 Sheldon Adelson $250,000 Quicken Loans $250,000 Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America $250,000 HBI Financial $250,000 Edward Czuker $250,000 Dr. Miriam Adelson $250,000 Cognex Corp $250,000 Stephen Chazen $200,000 Nancy and Richard Kinder $200,000 John Kleinheinz $200,000 B/E Aerospace, Inc $200,000 Elavon Merchant Services $150,050 Leon Black $150,000 Glen Steams $150,000 Farris & Jo Ann Wilks $125,000 William Bloomfield Jr. $100,000 Western National Contractors $100,000 Tully Friedman Rev. Trust $100,000 Tracinda Corporation $100,000 Steven Romick $100,000 Stearns Lending $100,000 Smithfield Foods $100,000 Rufus Lumry $100,000 Robert Rodriguez $100,000 Richard Atwood $100,000 Mike and Mary Sue Shannon $100,000 Lee Samson & Larry Feiger $100,000 Jon Phelps $100,000 Idea Marketplace, LLC $100,000 Hitchcock Automotive $100,000 Frank and Mary Walsh $100,000 Dennis Washington $100,000 Christopher James $100,000 Anthony Pritzker $100,000 ACEC $100,000 Genstar Capital Management $99,000 230 Meek Road LLC $76,667 Prime Administration $75,000 Dan or Staci Wilks $63,200 Americans for Limited Government $60,000 Fred Sands $55,000 William Duhamel $50,000 Tom Olds $50,000 Thomas McKeman $50,000 Robert Shillman $50,000 Montana Contractors Association $50,000 Marc Stern $50,000 Larry Ruvo $50,000 John Phelps $50,000 John Morris $50,000 Great Northern Properties $50,000 Gordon Butte Wind, LLC $50,000 Gerald Parsky $50,000 Gary Wilson $50,000 Ed Haddock $50,000 Donald and Jette Laws $50,000 David Horowitz $50,000 Crow Holdings $50,000 Cottonwood Financial $50,000 Colin Lind $50,000 Checksmart Financial Company $50,000 Bass Pro Inc $50,000 Aveta $50,000 Ambassador Frank Baxter $50,000 Alexander Dean and Catherine Cockrum Dean $50,000 Andy Pudzer $48,652 Barron Hilton $40,800 LGM Management $33,333 World Oil Corp $30,000 Montana Hospital Assn $30,000 WT Offshore Inc. $25,000 Timothy Barnard $25,000 Terence & Katrina Garnett $25,000 Sletten Construction $25,000 Safra Catz $25,000 Robert Amott $25,000 Ray C Realty Corp $25,000 Molina Corporation $25,000 Matthew Barger $25,000 Life Technologies $25,000 John Kissick $25,000 Jeffrey Henley $25,000 Gregory Wendt $25,000 Dr. and Mrs. Richard Robert $25,000 Dennis Bryan $25,000 Cheniere Energy Shared Services, Inc $25,000 Bos Terra $25,000 Barth Family Trust $25,000 Anthony Ressler $25,000 Andrew Barth $25,000 Kleinfelder West Inc $22,700 Washington Capital Advisors $20,000 The Made-Rite Company $20,000 Shorenstein Realty Services $20,000 Rikard and Christine Elestrand $20,000 BNSF $20,000 Nixon Peabody LLP $18,325 Yates Petroleum Corporation $15,000 Frank Haughton $15,000 Arch Coal $15,000 Waxie Sanitary Supply $10,000 Vincent and Linda McMahon $10,000 Tylin International $10,000 Thomas Hauptman $10,000 Robert Henske $10,000 Retamco Operating $10,000 Mines Management Inc $10,000 ME-TEX Oil and Gas, Inc $10,000 Legislative Education Action Drive $10,000 Kootenai Resource Corporation $10,000 J. Mark Grosvenor Foundation $10,000 Erik and Kendra Ragatz $10,000 Donald Beal $10,000 Cynthia Stone $10,000 Cash America $10,000 Michael Tennenbaum $8,000 Henry Resources, LLC $7,500 Provost & Pritchard $5,500 WIM Corporation $5,000 Strata Production Company $5,000 Steven Mnuchin $5,000 Steven and Julie Durrett $5,000 Sime Construction $5,000 Psomas $5,000 Parker J. Collier $5,000 Mark Davis $5,000 Joshua and Beth Friedman $5,000 Gary Lieberthal $5,000 E&B Natural Resources MGMT Corp $5,000 Century Companies $5,000

Note: Figures compiled by OpenSecrets using numbers provided to the FEC.

John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics and son of Gap Inc. founders Donald and Doris Fisher, gave generously to the group, shelling out $5 million between 2010 and 2012. His mother and his two brothers, Robert and William Fisher, also combined to give the group another $5 million, making the Fisher family the group’s biggest donor.

The California philanthropist mostly gave to conservative causes in the past, doling out $416,400 to Republican candidates and parties last cycle. Spreading his fortune between the two major parties, Fisher also gave $2,800 each this year to several Democratic presidential hopefuls, including self-funded businessman John Delaney and Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).

Paypal executive Peter Thiel gave the conservative group $500,000. An outspoken Trump supporter and GOP donor, the venture capitalist gave a $1 million check last year to Club for Growth Action, a conservative super PAC, and $100,000 to Trump’s inaugural committee in 2017. He also gave a total of $500,000 to Trump’s joint fundraising committee, Trump Victory.

Many of the group’s top donors between 2010 and 2012 are now Trump allies.

Billionaire investor Charles Schwab delivered $8.8 million to the conservative group between 2010 and 2012. A longtime GOP donor, the brokerage firm chairman has given $9.4 million to conservative outside spending groups from 2011 to 2019. Schwab became a staunch Trump supporter in 2016, giving $1 million to the president’s inaugural committee and more than $100,000 to the Republican National Committee legal fund, which helps pay for Trump’s legal bills. Schwab and his wife Helen each gave $1 million to the pro-Trump super PAC Future45 last year.

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam also chipped in $250,000 to fuel the conservative group. Longtime Republican megadonors, the couple shelled out $122.3 million to conservative political groups in 2018, including $10 million to pro-Trump super PAC America First Action. The couple doled out $20 million in 2016 to Future45 and gave $5 million to fund Trump’s inaugural festivities in 2017.

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Adelson’s support for the president earned him a seat at the dining table at the White House with Trump, Jared Kushner and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2017, as well as closer access to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his casino bid in Japan, ProPublica reported.

Real estate developer Geoffrey Palmer, who gave Americans for Job Security almost $2 million between 2010 and 2012, has given America First Action a total of $6 million to support Trump since 2017. Palmer also gave $5 million to pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now and $765,200 to Trump Victory.

The late Richard and Helen DeVos, in-laws of current Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, gave Americans for Job Security $2 million. The couple gave $2.8 million to conservative groups during the 2016 election cycle — right before their daughter-in-law became Trump’s appointee — with the entire DeVos family giving more than $10 million throughout the cycle.

Many other current and former Trump cabinet members are also among the group’s now disclosed donors. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, who was previously an investment banker, gave $5,000 to the group in 2012. Linda McMahon, formerly the head of the Small Business Administration under Trump, left the cabinet to chair America First Action in May. McMahon and her husband Vince gave Americans for Job Security $10,000 in 2012.

Americans for Job Security also attracted millions of dollars from corporations whose executives tend to give to Republicans.

Hensel Phelps Construction, one of the biggest construction managing companies in the country, coughed up $2.93 million to support the group. Since 1990, affiliates of the Colorado-based firm have combined to give $914,458 to political candidate campaigns, 94 percent of which went to support Republicans. Jeffrey Wenaas, the CEO of Hensel Phelps, gave exclusively to conservative causes over the years.

The dark money group also hauled in $3 million from oil and gas giant Devon Energy, whose PAC gave exclusively to conservative groups in the past. Texas-based Beal Bank also shelled out $1 million to fund the conservative group between 2010 and 2012. Andrew Beal, founder of Beal Bank, spent more than $300,000 to fund a Facebook meme campaign to support Trump’s 2016 presidential bid, CNBC reported.

While Americans for Job Security disclosed its sources of revenue, many of its donors are limited liability companies or tax-exempt organizations whose sources of income remain hidden under federal law. Some of those groups that donated to Americans for Job Security keep on giving large sums to other similar organizations, making the money flow among a network of conservative dark money groups virtually untraceable.

Rosebush Corp, a 501(c)(4) organization that was once denied tax-exempt status by the IRS, gave a $2 million grant to Americans for Job Security in 2012, as first disclosed in Rosebush’s tax filing. In 2011, the 501(c)(4) also gave a $750,000 grant to Americans for Limited Government, a dark money group led by real estate developer Howard Rich, which spent millions running ads against Democrats.

Like with the Center to Protect Patient Rights, money shuffled between the Rich-linked group and Americans for Job Security. Rich’s group received $10,000 from Americans for Job Security in 2011 and another $100,000 from the group in 2012, two years after it gave the dark money giant $60,000, recent filings show.

Wellspring Committee, another dark money group residing on the web of conservative tax-exempt organizations, gave Americans for Job Security $346,098 in 2010. OpenSecrets previously reported that the committee injected a total of nearly $3 million into the conservative group from 2008 to 2010 and gave out grants worth more than $17 million from 2008 to 2011. The group officially shut down in December 2018.

Reporter Karl Evers-Hillstrom and researchers Anna Massoglia and Alex Baumgart contributed to the report.

Edit 10/28/2019: The story has been edited to reflect that Betsy DeVos is the daughter-in-law of the late Richard and Helen DeVos.



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