{"id":5033,"date":"2023-08-21T14:43:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T19:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=5033"},"modified":"2023-08-21T14:43:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T19:43:00","slug":"legal-experts-call-for-investigation-into-bidens-favorite-super-pac-over-serious-financial-discrepancies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=5033","title":{"rendered":"Legal Experts Call For Investigation Into Biden&#8217;s Favorite Super PAC Over &#8216;Serious&#8217; Financial Discrepancies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Future Forward&#8217;s reporting errors are &#8216;beyond troubling,&#8217; watchdog says<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20370%20247'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-101.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-5034\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"736\" height=\"491\" src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-101.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5034\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-101.png 736w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-101-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-101-370x247.png 370w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-101-293x195.png 293w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-101-120x80.png 120w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-101-240x160.png 240w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-101-390x260.png 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>President Joe Biden&#8217;s favorite super PAC has a $12 million gap in its financial disclosures, a\u00a0<em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>\u00a0investigation found, prompting legal experts to call for immediate investigations into the &#8220;troubling&#8221; discrepancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Future Forward, which the Biden White House has endorsed as the &#8220;pre-eminent super PAC&#8221; supporting the president&#8217;s reelection bid, in 2021&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00669259&amp;contributor_name=future+forward&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2022&amp;min_date=01%2F01%2F2021&amp;max_date=12%2F31%2F2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claimed<\/a>&nbsp;it received just $3.4 million in cash from its affiliated dark money group. But that group, nonprofit Future Forward USA Action, reported in its 2021 IRS&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/nonprofits\/organizations\/824170762\/202203279349300615\/full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tax return<\/a>&nbsp;that it provided $15.3 million to the super PAC that year. The missing $12 million is one of several errors in the group\u2019s finances, errors that experts say are egregious enough to warrant a federal probe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The apparent numerous and blatant discrepancies in the recent filings by both the nonprofit and the super PAC are beyond troubling,&#8221; said Kendra Arnold, executive director of watchdog group Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust. &#8220;This situation calls for an investigation,&#8221; Arnold said, adding that the radical divergence in the figures reported in the groups\u2019 financial disclosures &#8220;is a telltale sign of inaccuracies and a deeper problem.&#8221; Nonprofit attorney Jason Torchinsky echoed that call, saying an apparent failure to report millions in contributions &#8220;would be a serious matter that the Federal Election Commission would investigate.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An investigation into Future Forward could prove to be a thorn in Biden\u2019s side heading into the 2024 elections. The group, which is led by former Obama campaign officials, has quietly raised nearly $400 million in the past five years to run ads supporting Biden and Democrats in battleground states. Much of Future Forward\u2019s funds came from Future Forward USA Action, which as a nonprofit is not required to publicly disclose its donors. While Biden in September said dark money &#8220;erodes public trust&#8221; and poses a &#8220;serious problem facing our democracy,&#8221; White House deputy chief of staff Jennifer O\u2019Malley Dillon months later&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/14\/us\/politics\/biden-future-forward-super-pac.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>&nbsp;Future Forward would &#8220;play a key role&#8221; in supporting Biden\u2019s reelection bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both Future Forward and Future Forward USA Action did not answer detailed questions on the gaps in their financial disclosures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, when a super PAC discloses contributions from a dark money group, the figures will match what the dark money group reports in its IRS tax returns. But in Future Forward\u2019s case, there are several glaring discrepancies in its disclosures to the IRS and FEC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2021, Future Forward USA Action reported in its IRS&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/nonprofits\/organizations\/824170762\/202203279349300615\/full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tax return<\/a>&nbsp;that it provided $15.3 million to the super PAC that year. Future Forward should have reported the same number in its reports to the FEC. But instead, the super PAC&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00669259&amp;contributor_name=future+forward&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2022&amp;min_date=01%2F01%2F2021&amp;max_date=12%2F31%2F2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claimed<\/a>&nbsp;it received just $3.4 million from its sister dark money group in 2021. The remaining $12 million is completely unaccounted for in the super PAC\u2019s reporting, a discrepancy that Arnold called &#8220;beyond troubling.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;If the filings are not accurate then not only are they worthless, but they are misleading,&#8221; Arnold told the&nbsp;<em>Free Beacon<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nonprofit attorney Jason Torchinsky said the discrepancies in Future Forward\u2019s reporting are a &#8220;serious matter&#8221; that could result in substantial fines for the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It seems very odd to tell the IRS that you sent $15 million to a super PAC, but to only have that super PAC report $3 million,&#8221; Torchinsky told the<em>&nbsp;Free Beacon<\/em>. &#8220;If the FEC determined that there were $12 million in underreported receipts by a super PAC, that could result in a substantial fine because FEC penalties are often assessed based on the amount at issue.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The $3.4 million that is accounted for in Future Forward\u2019s 2021 reporting could also land the group in legal trouble, the&nbsp;<em>Free Beacon<\/em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/elections\/bidens-favorite-super-pac-used-illegal-scheme-to-conceal-its-donors-experts-say\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>. Future Forward\u2019s dark money arm disclosed in another section of its 2021 IRS tax return that those funds were effectively earmarked for the super PAC, meaning the group should have revealed the original donors to the FEC. But Future Forward declined to disclose who contributed the cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Future Forward USA Action admitted to making over $3 million in earmarked political contributions, where they apparently obscured the true super PAC donor&#8217;s identity by routing the money through the nonprofit,&#8221; Republican election lawyer Charlie Spies told the&nbsp;<em>Free Beacon<\/em>. &#8220;The U.S. DOJ has sent people to prison for this sort of illegal activity, and the FEC has imposed major fines on conservative organizations accused of less blatant earmarking.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Future Forward\u2019s reporting from 2018 through 2020 contain even more discrepancies. The Super PAC appears to have no dedicated staff, as it has never reported making a payroll expenditure, according to its FEC&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/disbursements\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00669259\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filings<\/a>. Instead, the super PAC uses the services of its affiliated dark money group\u2019s staff. Such arrangements are legal and common, but in Future Forward\u2019s case, the two groups disclosed radically different amounts of in-kind staff donations every year between 2018 and 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Future Forward\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00669259&amp;contributor_name=future+forward&amp;min_date=01%2F01%2F2020&amp;max_date=12%2F31%2F2020\" target=\"_blank\">reported<\/a>\u00a0to the FEC it received $467,204 worth of in-kind staff contributions from the dark money group in 2020. But the dark money group\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/projects.propublica.org\/nonprofits\/display_990\/824170762\/download990pdf_07_2022_prefixes_82-94%2F824170762_202012_990O_2022071220210864\" target=\"_blank\">claimed<\/a>\u00a0to the IRS it only provided $67,479 worth of in-kind staff time to the super PAC that same year. The numbers should be an exact match, but instead, they\u2019re off by a factor of nearly seven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier, in 2018 and 2019, Future Forward\u2019s dark money group claimed it provided $0 worth of in-kind staff services to the PAC. But in those same years, Future Forward said it received a combined $137,000 worth of in-kind staff services from its dark money affiliate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;There must be an independent audit of both groups for these egregious discrepancies and an investigation and possible enforcement action by both the IRS and the FEC,&#8221; said Paul Kamenar, an attorney with the National Legal and Policy Center watchdog group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Original Article: <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/elections\/legal-experts-call-for-investigation-into-bidens-favorite-super-pac-over-serious-financial-discrepancies\/\">https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/elections\/legal-experts-call-for-investigation-into-bidens-favorite-super-pac-over-serious-financial-discrepancies\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Future Forward&#8217;s reporting errors are &#8216;beyond troubling,&#8217; watchdog says President Joe Biden&#8217;s favorite super PAC has a $12 million gap in its financial disclosures, a\u00a0Washington Free Beacon\u00a0investigation found, prompting legal experts to call for immediate investigations into the &#8220;troubling&#8221; discrepancy. Future Forward, which the Biden White House has endorsed as the &#8220;pre-eminent super PAC&#8221; supporting the president&#8217;s reelection bid, in 2021&nbsp;claimed&nbsp;it received just $3.4 million in cash from its affiliated dark money group. But that group, nonprofit Future Forward USA [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-president-biden"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5033"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5035,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5033\/revisions\/5035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}