Kenneth P. Vogel

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

@KFILE What great news! So very happy for your beautiful family. — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Meanwhile, watchdogs warn the continued growth of dark money could further undermine trust in our political system. Dem legislation to require more disclosure was included in the voting & election overhaul legislation that failed in the Senate this month. https://t.co/yrtlPYZIhd — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Both parties are aggressively raising dark money headed into the midterms. Democrats are urging their donors not to give in to complacency. And groups affiliated with GOP congressional leaders raised big sums in 2021 (per @PunchbowlNews & @foxnews). https://t.co/3VUCk8u8nX https://t.co/tNayLjjEMV — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Another factor: leading GOP donors & operatives were conflicted over whether & how to support Trump. Evidence: groups devoted to GOP congressional candidates were financially competitive with Dem counterparts, but groups devoted to Trump got trounced by those boosting Biden. — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

But Democrats’ success in harnessing secretive nonprofit spending in 2020 exposed the tension between their efforts to win elections & their commitment to curtail secretive political spending by the superrich. Here's a nice look at that tension by @rmc031 https://t.co/ikeBLRBhkX — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

As Rob Stein (founder of the DEMOCRACY ALLIANCE & one of the architects of today’s big-money left) told me: “A range of donors — not just traditional progressive Democrats — had a wake-up call around 2019 where they realized that our constitutional republic was at risk…" https://t.co/8EQV9uGODZ — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

The left's dark money surge wasn't only from the usual suspects. New donors & groups joined in. A new nonprofit with ties to increasingly active tech billionaires, @futureforwardus, raised $150M in 2020. @OpenSecretsDC examined the group & its super PAC https://t.co/ZDQ8DEM6YB — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Some Dem donors have cast secretive political spending as a corruption of democracy. But they viewed a prospective 2nd Trump term as even more of a threat, so they embraced dark money as a means to an end. Also: some welcomed anonymity as a way to avoid being targeted by Trump. — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

We anticipate disagreements about our methodology & application. But strategists from both parties generally agreed in interviews with our conclusion that the left outpaced the right in secretive nonprofit spending & sophistication in 2020. One of the main reasons: TRUMP. — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

We anticipate disagreements about our methodology & its application. But we found in interviews with strategists from both parties that they generally agreed with our conclusion that the left eclipsed the right in secretive nonprofit spending & sophistication in 2020. — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

So-called "dark money" is difficult to track & quantify. We spent a lot of time honing our methodology, but we acknowledge it is imperfect for reasons I detail in the linked thread. We welcome your thoughts on what we could have done differently. https://t.co/cldhSIOL44 https://t.co/pTVwRKpfAu — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Likewise, the Dem-aligned dark money juggernaut SIXTEEN THIRTY FUND had operated mostly in the shadows until @PoliticoScott & @MaggieSeverns revealed in a 11/19/2019 story (also in @politico) that it spent $141 million in 2018 boosting progressive causes. https://t.co/Yyh76AiAxC — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

The Koch network group then known as FREEDOM PARTNERS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE spent $250M during 2012, but its existence wasn’t revealed until 9/11/2013, when @mikeallen & @JimVandeHei exposed its existence in a @politico story to which they let me contribute. https://t.co/WYyZQbYiLy — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

And nonprofits make it harder to follow the money by funneling it between groups, sometimes using feeder funds that mix their own spending with grants to other end-spender groups. Because of the opacity, important feeder funds can remain hidden from the public for years. — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Even with 990s, dark $ can be hard to track. Some initiatives only exist inside other groups, rendering 990s kinda useless in deciphering finances. The Dem-aligned DEMAND JUSTICE was initially a project of 1630 Fund; the GOP-aligned HONEST ELECTION PROJECT is part of 85 Fund. — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

.@nytimes lawyers @alamynsumar & @dana__green helped us by reminding groups of their legal obligation to provide their 990s. Still, some groups completely ignored our inquiries. One said it mailed its 990, but it never arrived. In the end, we collected & reviewed 150+ 990s. — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Groups can make it tough to get their tax returns. Some refuse to email them, either mailing paper copies, or making you come to their offices. When I went to @SBAList's office, they refused to let me photoscan their returns, instead making me pay $33.10 https://t.co/RXlBJDmm6I — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

There's no way to comprehensively search top spending groups. They have file to file public tax returns (990s), but they're sparse, can be tough to obtain & come 12+ mos. after the relevant election. That’s why we’re posting this story now — nearly 15 months after Election Day. — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

RT @ShaneGoldmacher: These are huge sums. One Dem-aligned nonprofit, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, spent more in 2020 than the DNC itself. But… — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Secretive nonprofit spending shapes much of our politics, from campaigns to fights over voting rules & SCOTUS seats. But it's difficult to get info about the donors & groups. That's partly thanks to lax disclosure rules, & partly because some groups further obscure the $ flow. — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

WHY WE DID THIS STORY: @ShaneGoldmacher & I debated whether the limitations of assessing “dark money” made it worth trying at all. We decided the difficulty was not a good reason to shy away. In fact, the opacity was partly why we deemed this worthwhile. https://t.co/o1YmfDT0qE — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Our analysis found that 15 of the most politically active nonprofits that generally align with Democrats spent more than $1.5 BILLION in 2020, compared to roughly $900 million spent by a comparable sample of 15 of the most politically active groups aligned with Republicans. https://t.co/cHCj0Y3YwR — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Democrats complained for years about secretive political spending. But in 2020, as they worked to beat Trump & take the Senate, they outpaced Republicans in “dark money,” @ShaneGoldmacher & I found in a @nytimes analysis. Free link for non-subscribers: https://t.co/o1YmfDT0qE — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

In 18 of the past 20 seasons, at least one of the QB trio of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers & Ben Roethlisberger has played in a conference title game. On Sunday, for the first time in 12 seasons, none of them will be playing for a Super Bowl berth. https://t.co/tPcCHo9BDq https://t.co/o24BQpLVXV — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Close enough should not be the standard for arresting someone. https://t.co/xEOr6mlrtG — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

RT @nateschweber: Subterranean bird: a house sparrow rides a 7 train #tweet https://t.co/bHb9oI7LgJ — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

.@gregkellyusa isn’t a fan of Biden or his new cat. https://t.co/JlG18nUll0 — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

Pronounced Willagrove — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

RT @billmarczak: NEW: NYT reporting that the FBI is a Pegasus customer, and can hack US numbers. But the claim is FBI only "tested" the sys… — PolitiTweet.org

Kenneth P. Vogel @kenvogel

This photo on the Pittsburgh bridge collapse. Yeesh … — PolitiTweet.org