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Americans for Responsible Leadership, the group that dumped $11 million into California to fight Gov. Brown's tax measure Prop. 30 and push the anti-union measure Prop. 32, has sent state officials a letter saying that it was only the intermediary for the money. The contributions came through two nonprofits, Americans for Job Security and The Center to Protect Patient Rights, that do not have to report their sources of funds. "Under California law, the failure to disclose this initially was campaign money laundering," the California Fair Political Practices Commission says. "At $11 million, this is the largest contribution ever disclosed as campaign money laundering in California history."
The California Supreme Court, made up almost entirely of justices appointed by Republican governors, ruled over the weekend that the Arizona organization had to give California some information on its donors. The group is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court and in the meantime gave limited information to the FPPC.
The Center to Protect Patient Rights has previously been connected to Kansas-based Koch Industries, whose owners, David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch, are funders of conservative causes.
