This story was produced by MapLight , a nonprofit organization that reveals the influence of money in politics .

A lobbyist with extensive ties to secretive nonprofit organizations served as the “quarterback” for the successful nomination of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, according to records reviewed by MapLight.

Rob Collins, a Washington lobbyist and Republican strategist, claims on his professional biography at the S-3 Group that he worked with more than a half-dozen White House offices, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Senate, and more than 20 advocacy organizations to ensure Gorsuch’s confirmation.

The disclosure reveals that the Trump administration is taking advantage of a loophole in U.S. campaign finance law that allows elected officials to coordinate their agendas with nonprofit organizations that aren’t required to disclose their donors to the public. All told, five major “dark money” organizations spent more than $14 million boosting Gorsuch’s nomination.

“By many indications, some of these dark money groups are acting as an arm of the White House,” said Brendan Fischer, an associate counsel at the Washington-based Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit watchdog. “We’re seeing money flow into politics in ways we’ve hardly seen before, and it’s continuing to flood the very swamp that Trump promised to drain.”

Although campaign finance legislation prohibits coordination among elected officials, candidates, and dark money organizations, the laws only apply during federal elections. Coordination to support or oppose cabinet nominees, judicial nominees, or specific policy measures are not covered by the regulations.

“The reason campaign finance law doesn’t cover this is because it’s written to govern campaigns,” Fischer said. “But there’s little reason to think that a six- or seven-figure expenditure to advance the president’s agenda is going to be any less valuable than a big expenditure to support his reelection.”