BH Group

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BH Group is a Limited Liability Corporation registered in Virginia in August 2016.[1] It is the sister group of the BH Fund and is closely related to the Wellspring Committee and the conservative Judicial Crisis Network.[2] It is an employer of Leonard Leo.[1][3][4]

Funding[]

Between 2016 and 2018, the BH Group received $4 million from the Judicial Crisis Network, the Judicial Education Project, and the Wellspring Committee.[1] It has been described as a shell company, a pass-through vehicle, or a "a cipher, and likely was set up solely to prevent disclosure of the actual donor’s name."[5]

In November 2017, the Wellspring Committee filed tax documents showing a $750,000 payment to BH Group firm for “Public Relations.”[6] The BH Group does not appear to marketed itself as a public relations firm, has no known website, and does not that advertise its services.[6] Similarly, Wellspring Committee, a nonprofit, has no known public-facing operations, no website for publicizing them and three employees.[6] In 2018, the BH Group received nearly $919,000 from the Wellspring Committee, the primary funder of the Judicial Crisis Network.[2][7]

In 2018, the Judicial Crisis Network also reported paying BH Group $1.2 million in consulting fees.[8]

In 2018, the Rule of Law Trust paid the BH Group $4,000,000 for consulting services.[8] The Rule of Law Trust is an $80,000,000 trust with no employees; its sole trustee is Leonard Leo.[9][10]

Known activities[]

It is connected to the non-profit BH Fund, which has received $24,250,000 from a single unknown donor, and has donated more than $3 million to the Freedom and Opportunity Fund and America Engaged.[1]

The BH Fund is responsible for enforcing a donation agreement between a secret $20 million donor and the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.[3][11][12][13]

In December 2016, BH Group donated $1 million to Donald Trump’s inaugural committee.[6]

The Honest Elections Project, an alias of the Judicial Education Project/Judicial Crisis Network, has also paid money to the BH Group.[14] The Honest Election Project, which has expressed the view that voter suppression is a "myth," has filed court briefs "in favor of voting restrictions" in Nevada, Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin and Minnesota.[14] As The Guardian notes, "By having a hand in both voting litigation and the judges on the federal bench, this network could create a system where conservative donors have an avenue to both oppose voting rights and appoint judges to back that effort."[14]

Known Employees[]

Leonard Leo is an employee of the BH Group and the President of the BH Fund.[1][4][3]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e O'Harrow Jr., Robert; Boburg, Shawn (May 21, 2019). "A conservative activist's behind-the-scenes campaign to remake the nation's courts". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 24, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b Lee, Michelle Ye Hee (November 27, 2018). "Unnamed donors gave large sums to conservative nonprofit that funded Trump allies". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 24, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b c "New 'dark money' group led by Trump judicial adviser tied to network promoting his court picks". OpenSecrets News. The Center for Responsive Politics. February 27, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Boburg, Shawn; O'Harrow Jr, Robert (May 21, 2019). "Five takeaways from The Post's report on Leonard Leo". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 24, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ NW, The Center for Responsive Politics 1300 L. St; Washington, Suite 200; info, DC 20005 telelphone857-0044 (May 14, 2018). "$1 million mystery gift to Trump inauguration traced to conservative legal activists". OpenSecrets News. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Maguire, Robert (May 15, 2018). "$1 million mystery gift to inauguration traced to conservative legal activists". McClatchy.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "The Money Behind Conservative Legal Movement (Published 2017)". The New York Times. March 19, 2017. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Slodysko | AP, Michael Biesecker and Brian. "Barrett ads tied to interest groups funded by unnamed donors". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  9. ^ "$80 million dark money group tied to Trump Supreme Court advisor, Leonard Leo". CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  10. ^ "Rule of Law Trust IRS 990" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Michaelson, Jay (July 9, 2018). "The Secretive Puppetmaster Behind Trump's Supreme Court Pick". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  12. ^ "After Eight Years On The Sidelines, This Conservative Group Is Primed To Reshape The Courts". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  13. ^ Times, Angela Woolsey / Fairfax County. "GMU law school under scrutiny for possible Federalist Society ties". Fairfax County Times. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c Levine, Sam; Massoglia, Anna (May 27, 2020). "Revealed: conservative group fighting to restrict voting tied to powerful dark money network". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
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