Follow the money.

How did $20,000 in donations that people thought was going to the “Tea Party Movement” end up in the hands of establishment Republicans Mitch McConnell & John Cornyn?

The transactions don’t show up on the TeaParty.net Leadership Fund list of candidate expenses. It’s all a matter of public record but it’s been hidden of diverting it through a JFC or Joint Fundraising Committee.

The story was even reported back in 2013 by Roll Call, but went largely unnoticed and Roll Call didn’t catch the connection of attorney Dan Backer to so many groups involved. Roll Call wrote:

A national tea party committee, the Tea Party Leadership Fund (formerly known as the TeaParty.Net Leadership Fund), a hybrid PAC with a noncontribution account, based in Alexandria, Va., contributed $40,000 in May to In Defense of Free Speech JFC, a joint fundraising committee set up in May. The $53,800 in proceeds were split between four candidates, with each getting $13,450. The candidates were McConnell, Cruz, Lee and John Cornyn, R-Texas. The McConnell Senate Committee ’14 was sent $10,950 on June 29 and $2,500 on June 25.

Follow the steps used to send Tea Party donor money to Cornyn & McConnell and note all the connections to Dan Backer and don’t take my word for it: click the links.

When people are urged to donate to The TeaParty.net Leadership Fund, they are told their money to support the Tea Party Movement. Here’s their donation page:

How did money end up in Mitch McConnell and Cornyn’s coffers?

One common link is Virginia attorney Dan Backer, who is the treasurer for The TeaParty.net Leadership Fund, who took in over $3.4 million in donations in this election cycle. Most of the money went to fundraising and ‘unclassifiable’ expenses.

One of the groups biggest expenditures was $40,000 to a group called In Defense of Free Speech JFC.

 

In Defense of Free Speech JFC was originally set up by in 2013 by Dan Backer, who was also the group’s original treasurer. Laster, a woman named Christina Sirois-who works for Backer’s company DB Capitol Strategies-was named as treasurer. The group was dissolved in February, 2014.

In Defense of Free Speech JFC did one thing in its short life: gave $13,450 each to Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.

Where did the money for the In Defense of Free Speech JFCcome group set up by Dan Backer come from?

• $40,000 came from The TeaParty.net Leadership Fund - Dan Backer, Treasurer
• $5000 came from Shaun McCutcheon, a client of Dan Backer’s
• $5000 came from a group called E Pluribus Unum PAC - Dan Backer, Treasurer. The group’s only purpose appears to have been to give $5000 to the In Defense of Free Speech JFC
• $5000 came from a man Richard Campbell — who was also the sole donor for the E Pluribus Unum PAC set up by Dan Backer

Ironically, Dan Backer was the treasurer for Cornyn’s primary opponent, Rep. Steve Stockman, who got $2,500 from The TeaParty.net Leadership Fund.

This means that John Cornyn’s $10,000 take was four times what Stockman.

Just follow the arrows on this flowchart I mad.

DEVELOPING…