Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton questioned Good Information Foundation’s motives and lack of transparency on Tuesday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow, after the tax-exempt organization was accused of allegedly trying to pay an attorney to spread false information about former President Trump and “Trump Republicans” on social media.
“I don’t understand why their names aren’t there, who’s running it. Who’s on the board of directors. And they are a new enough group that what would be publicly available financial information isn’t available yet,” Fitton said. “So question is, are they going to be participating in these public policy debates in and around the election, and without anyone really knowing who they are, or how much money they have or anything else? My guess is that’s probably going to be the case.”
Fitton noted that while there is “no legal requirement” for a non-profit to openly post about its leadership, he said it is very “murky” and “unusual” for an organization claiming to engage in public policy work to present such a convoluted front.
Attorney and legal commentator Preston Moore posted a video over the weekend saying he was offered, and rejected, $400 by the “Good Information Foundation” to make a video attacking Donald Trump and “Trump Republicans.” The foundation allegedly wanted Moore to create the video about January 6 and post it on his social media platforms to reach the widest possible audience.
“It became really clear that … they wanted me to use the most graphic images possible,” Moore told Breitbart News. “They wanted me to use fear to manipulate people into voting blue, or into voting not Trump. … And when they’re giving examples of the things they wanted me to say — don’t say ‘Trump and his allies,’ say ‘Trump Republicans’ — it became really clear that this was about putting out information … to impact midterms.”
“I was just offered $400 to make an anti Trump video” pic.twitter.com/FhinA9nY4p
— Laura Lawrence (@LBoogie1919) September 17, 2022
As Breitbart News previously reported, the Good Information Foundation’s website states that it is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit arm of Good Information Inc., “a public benefit corporation committed to restoring social trust and strengthening democracy by investing in solutions that counter disinformation and increase the flow of good information online.” Good Information Inc., which is backed by billionaires Reid Hoffman, George Soros, and others was established in 2021 to fund media companies and “efforts that tackle disinformation,” Axios reported in October 2021.
The organization’s 501(c)(3) status is especially notable because the designation is typically reserved for organizations that serve a noble public interest, such as public education and charitable work. A 501(c)(3) designation allows these organizations to forgo paying taxes on revenue and allows donors to write off donations.
Breitbart News asked the IRS on Monday if the Good Information Foundation’s alleged activities put the organization in violation of 501(c)(3) rules. The IRS said it cannot comment on the legality of an organization’s actions without an official audit and pointed to a federal statute that mandates that 501(c)(3) organizations are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”
The IRS’s website reads:
Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.
While former President Donald Trump has not announced a highly anticipated 2024 presidential run, many Trump-backed Republicans are currently running for office, and many of those races are quite competitive and will ultimately determine the balance of power for President Joe Biden’s remaining time in office — meaning, the organization’s alleged activity could be in direct violation of the statute.
“Just to be clear, what they’re trying to do again, is through this program — whether it’s good or bad — is basically target those who object to people being able to steal elections, who want to be able to dispute elections. And they want target them with hit pieces paid with these charitable dollars,” Fitton said. ”
“When you look at what he [Moore] says…this isn’t a careful analysis of election law. This is ‘go after MAGA,’ ‘go after Republicans…’ It looks like a nonprofit political jihad against Trump and his supporters,” Fitton added.
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