Update: Koch brothers left confidential political document at Palm Beach donor conference.Last year David Koch took credit for Republicans' keeping control of the legislature in the Wisconsin state senate recall elections held in August 2011, a Palm Beach Post reporter said.
Koch said it "was the work our people did, what Americans for Prosperity did and the money spent that enabled them [the Republicans] to keep control in the [Wisconsin state] senate," said Stacey Singer referring to a rare Koch interview with the press for a Palm Beach Post, (Feb. 18. 2012) piece. The quote was not published in her piece.
Singer noted in her February 18, 2012 piece that Koch also said, "We're helping [Scott Walker], as we should. We've gotten pretty good at this over the years. We've spent a lot of money in Wisconsin. We're going to spend more."
One problem with this is that Americans for Prosperity is registered as a non-profit 501(c)(4). So electoral politics are supposed to be out of bounds, by law.
As Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out in May 2013, 501(c)(4)s are by federal law, supposed to be operated "exclusively for the promotion of social welfare," as O'Donnell cites federal law on non-profit, tax exempt organizations.
And this "exclusively" element means not an electoral tool used to elect political candidates for public office.
There have been complaints filed with the IRS and the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board alleging illegal use of tax-exempt status by Koch's group.
Wisconsin awaits word on the status of these complaints.
Few doubt that Americans for Prosperity is exclusively used for the promotion of social welfare.
Lawrence O’Donnell Show - May 2013
This is exactly why 501(c)(4) groups like Koch's AFP and Wisconsin's Tea Party Group "Northwoods Patriots" need to be investigated and, if in violation of law, sued in court. And, if guilty, fined AND thrown in jail.
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