One of Barack Obama’s largest campaign bundlers is also the leader of a secretive Democratic money machine.
Kelly Craighead, who has pledged to raise at least $500,000 to Obama’s reelection campaign, serves as president and managing director of the Democracy Alliance, a group of wealthy Democratic donors founded in 2005 with seed money from left-wing billionaire George Soros.
The Alliance serves as a clearinghouse that connects donors to endorsed organizations—such as the Center for American Progress and the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA—without threat of disclosure. The Alliance is not listed in any phonebook, and does not disclose its donors or endorsed organizations.
“This helps the donors dodge disclosure laws, and grants them anonymity,” said campaign finance expert John Samples. “By giving to a group like Democracy Alliance, it reduces your risk in an election year if your company may have business with the government and doesn’t want to lose that under a potential Romney administration.”
Craighead has no need for anonymity. She served as a top aide to former First Lady Hillary Clinton and later worked for her U.S. Senate campaign.
Nor has Craighead avoided shadowy political groups or fundraising practices. She became embroiled in a federal investigation into Clinton’s fundraising during the 2000 campaign. Federal authorities later indicted Clinton campaign Financial Director David Rosen for lying about the campaign’s fundraising costs.
Rosen allegedly doctored records to hide $700,000 in costs in connection to a $1.2 million celebrity gala—a move designed to free up cash for the campaign. A prosecution witness testified that Craighead knew Rosen had manipulated the costs and did nothing to fix the error.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/head-of-the-donor-class/
Kelly Craighead, who has pledged to raise at least $500,000 to Obama’s reelection campaign, serves as president and managing director of the Democracy Alliance, a group of wealthy Democratic donors founded in 2005 with seed money from left-wing billionaire George Soros.
The Alliance serves as a clearinghouse that connects donors to endorsed organizations—such as the Center for American Progress and the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA—without threat of disclosure. The Alliance is not listed in any phonebook, and does not disclose its donors or endorsed organizations.
“This helps the donors dodge disclosure laws, and grants them anonymity,” said campaign finance expert John Samples. “By giving to a group like Democracy Alliance, it reduces your risk in an election year if your company may have business with the government and doesn’t want to lose that under a potential Romney administration.”
Craighead has no need for anonymity. She served as a top aide to former First Lady Hillary Clinton and later worked for her U.S. Senate campaign.
Nor has Craighead avoided shadowy political groups or fundraising practices. She became embroiled in a federal investigation into Clinton’s fundraising during the 2000 campaign. Federal authorities later indicted Clinton campaign Financial Director David Rosen for lying about the campaign’s fundraising costs.
Rosen allegedly doctored records to hide $700,000 in costs in connection to a $1.2 million celebrity gala—a move designed to free up cash for the campaign. A prosecution witness testified that Craighead knew Rosen had manipulated the costs and did nothing to fix the error.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/head-of-the-donor-class/
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