Wisconsin Democratic Senate candidate Mandela Barnes has added one of the party's top "Dark money" lawyers to his payroll while campaigning on a promise to crack down on undisclosed money in politics, according to campaign finance records reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
Barnes, Wisconsin's sitting lieutenant governor who has vowed to "Stand up to the corrupting influence of dark money" and recently released a list of campaign pledges to combat secretive political spending, disclosed in his latest filing with the Federal Election Commission that he hired the Elias Law Group.
The firm, which was founded last year by Democratic lawyer and former Hillary Clinton aide Marc Elias, has established itself as a leading defender and beneficiary of the left's massive dark money network.
The hire could undercut Barnes's attempts to brand himself as a crusader against the corrupting influence of money in politics.
Americans for Public Trust, a watchdog group that tracks political spending, criticized Barnes's decision to hire Elias while campaigning against dark money.
"Not only has he handed over tens of thousands of dollars to Marc Elias, the attorney behind the dark money behemoth Arabella Advisors, but the Arabella-managed North Fund, a 'shadowy' dark money group, is spending millions to attack Barnes's opponent. The hypocrisy is astonishing."
Barnes has in recent weeks made his opposition to dark money a key part of his campaign platform.
Thursday, February 24, 2022
Senate Candidate Hired Dem 'Dark Money' Lawyer While Campaigning Against Money in Politics
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment