A Politico profile of a new anti-Trump protest movement calling itself “Indivisible” reported that “conservatives” are “spreading unfounded rumors” that the group is “being driven by wealthy donors like George Soros.”
Politico, however, seemingly failed to do even the most minimal research on the Indivisible leaders cited in the news outlet’s own profile. Some of those personalities are openly associated with groups financed by Soros.
Politico further failed to note that the organizations cited in its article as helping to amplify Indivisible’s message are either financed directly by Soros or have close ties to groups funded by the billionaire.
“Inside the protest movement that has Republicans reeling,” was the title of the Politico profile.
Citing Angel Padilla, a co-founder of the group, Politico reported:
Dubbed “Indivisible,” the group launched as a way for Padilla and a handful of fellow ex-Democratic aides to channel their post-election heartbreak into a manual for quashing President Donald Trump’s agenda. They drafted a 26-page protest guide for activists, full of pointers on how to bird dog their members of Congress in the language of Capitol insiders.
The manual has since been downloaded over one million times. Indivisible says on its website that over 4,500 local groups across the nation have “signed up to resist the Trump agenda in nearly every congressional district in the country.”
The manual has been utilized to form the basis of a protest movement. The group’s website states: “What’s more, you all are putting the guide into action—showing up en masse to congressional district offices and events, and flooding the congressional phone lines. You’re resisting—and it’s working.”
Politico reported on “unfounded” rumors being spread about Soros’s involvement with Indivisible (emphasis added by this reporter):
Its handful of senior leaders count about 100 contributors to their national organizing work but insist that all are working on a volunteer basis. They know conservatives are spreading unfounded rumors that their success is being driven by wealthy donors like George Soros, which they flatly deny.
That paragraph was followed by the following quote from co-founder Padilla (emphasis again added by this reporter):
“It doesn’t matter who we take money from — we’re always going to get blamed as a Soros group, even if we don’t take money from Soros,” said Padilla, now an analyst with the National Immigration Law Center. “That’s one of the attacks and that’s fine.”
While “Indivisible” has yet to disclose its donors, Politico failed to inform readers that the National Immigration Law Center where the news outlet reported Padilla serves as an analyst is financed by Soros’s Open Society Foundations. The Center has received numerous Open Society grants earmarked for general support.
Also unmentioned by Politico is that Padilla previously served as an immigration policy consultant at the radical National Council of La Raza. Soros is a major La Raza donor.
Politico went on to detail how Indivisible has been aided by MoveOn.org and the ACLU. The news website failed to tell readers that MoveOn.org and the ACLU are both financed by Soros, a relevant tidbit given Politico’s claim about “unfounded rumors” that Indivisibles’ success was being driven by Soros .
The news website reported:
In addition, MoveOn.org and the Working Families Party joined with Indivisible for its first nationwide call on Jan. 22. Nearly 60,000 people phoned in that day, according to Levin and MoveOn organizing director Victoria Kaplan. Indivisible estimates that its second national call, on the impact of Trump’s immigration order with assistance from the ACLU and Padilla’s group, drew 35,000 people.
Politico also missed that, according to its Twitter account, another organizer of the conference call with MoveOn.org was the International Refugee Assistance Project, a project of the Urban Justice Center, another recipient of an Open Society grant.
Taryn Higashi, executive director of the Center’s International Refugee Assistance Project, currently serves on the Advisory Board of the International Migration Initiative of Soros’s Open Society Foundations.
Meanwhile, Politico further reported on Indivisible’s ties to the organizers of last month’s anti-Trump Women’s March while failing to mention that Soros reportedly has ties to more than 50 “partners” of that march. Also, this journalist first reported on the march leaders’ own close associations with Soros.
Regarding Indivisible and the Women’s March, Politico reported:
Indivisible is also embracing collaboration with other major anti-Trump protest outlets. Leaders of the group were in communication with Women’s March organizers before their main event on Jan. 21, and that partnership will become official when the March unveils the third in its series of 10 direct actions that attendees have been asked to pursue in their communities.
Another Indivisible leader mentioned in the Politico article is Jeremy Haile. Not reported by Politico is that is Haile served as federal advocacy counsel for the Sentencing Project. The Sentencing Project is reportedly financed by Soros’s Open Society Foundations, which has also hosted the Project to promote its cause.
Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.
With research by Brenda J. Elliott.
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