"Nonpartisan" tax-exempt GOP-linked group accused of illegal multimillion "dark money" scheme
A Virginia group that bills itself as a "nonprofit, nonpartisan" watchdog group has illegally solicited millions while pushing Republican-aligned messaging, according to a complaint filed by a watchdog organization on Thursday.
Americans for Public Trust, which bills itself as an ethics watchdog, is illegally fundraising in Virginia, according to a
complaint filed by the Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit watchdog group, to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the commonwealth's attorney for the city of Alexandria, where APT is based.
"For a group that claims to be a watchdog, you'd think that APT would have its own house in order, but that appears not to be the case," Michelle Kuppersmith, the executive director of Campaign for Accountability, said in a statement to Salon. "If Virginia officials confirm that APT has in fact been soliciting dark money in the state illegally, they should—as APT's website puts it—'ensure that those who disregard the rule of law are held responsible.'"
APT denied any wrongdoing in response to the complaint.
"Americans for Public Trust is fully compliant with state charitable laws," Caitlin Sutherland, the group's executive director, said in an email to Salon.
APT, which describes itself as an "independent" organization that is "dedicated to restoring trust in government," focuses largely on targeting Democrats with election ethics complaints.
The group was founded in 2020 by Sutherland, the former research director for the National Republican Congressional Committee who previously worked at the Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund. Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt served as the group's outside counsel and was branded the
"Nevada version of Rudy Giuliani" after leading former President Donald Trump's failed efforts to overturn his election loss (he is already
threatening to file lawsuits challenging 2022 votes that haven't been cast). Annie Talley, the group's
president, was a
"trusted aide" to Trump and
shepherded Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's nomination as deputy White House counsel.