BH Group
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[]
- ^ 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.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d Maguire, Robert (May 15, 2018). "$1 million mystery gift to inauguration traced to conservative legal activists". McClatchy.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "The Money Behind Conservative Legal Movement (Published 2017)". The New York Times. March 19, 2017. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "$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.
- ^ "Rule of Law Trust IRS 990" (PDF).
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Michaelson, Jay (July 9, 2018). "The Secretive Puppetmaster Behind Trump's Supreme Court Pick". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ "After Eight Years On The Sidelines, This Conservative Group Is Primed To Reshape The Courts". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ Times, Angela Woolsey / Fairfax County. "GMU law school under scrutiny for possible Federalist Society ties". Fairfax County Times. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ 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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