Montana state senators raise big bucks with secretive nonprofit
A secretive nonprofit connected to a pair of conservative Montana state senators, which spent heavily during the state’s contested 2012 Supreme Court race, raised more than $900,000 in 2012, according to a tax filing obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.
Five unnamed donors accounted for 70 percent of the Montana Growth Network’s receipts, with the largest contribution ringing in at $200,000.
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Complaints filed with Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices argue the Montana Growth Network should have registered as a political committee and disclosed its donors in 2012. But because the group operates as a “social welfare” nonprofit under Sec. 501(c)(4) of the U.S. tax code, its donors remain secret.
The group’s leaders include Republican state Sens. Jason Priest and Ed Walker, according to tax records, with Priest listed as the group's executive director, president and treasurer.
Related: Montana Growth Network filing
In February, Priest was arrested and charged with assaulting his estranged wife, their four-year-old daughter and his wife’s boyfriend. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and a trial has been set for later this summer.
In an interview with the Center for Public Integrity, Priest lambasted the state’s political practices commission as a “kangaroo court” and maintained the Montana Growth Network's messaging was not designed to influence elections.
Related: Obscure nonprofit threatens campaign finance limits beyond Montana
“There are different vehicles for different things,” Priest said.
“You don’t buy a pick-up truck to commute to work if you live in San Diego,” he continued. “If you do issue advocacy, you set up a 501(c)(4).”
Related: Supreme Court rejects Montana's election spending law
The group aims to “make Montana more business friendly,” according to an archived version of its now-defunct website.
Walker, who, like Priest, declined to identify the nonprofit’s funders, said the Montana Growth Network’s biggest achievement in 2012 was “educating Montanans about the activist nature of the court.”
Related: After big U.S. Supreme Court win, Montana nonprofit suffers string of losses
Ahead of a three-way, nonpartisan primary in 2012, the Montana Growth Network reported spending about $42,000 on mailers that encouraged voters to support Laurie McKinnon, a district judge widely viewed as the most conservative candidate, as the Center for Public Integrity previously reported.
There’s more to this story. Click here to read the rest at the Center for Public Integrity.
This story is part of Primary Source. Primary Source keeps you up-to-date on developments in the post-Citizens United world of money in politics. Click here to read more stories in this blog.
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Copyright 2014 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
