{"id":767221,"date":"2022-02-24T08:11:13","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T13:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=767221"},"modified":"2022-02-24T08:33:10","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T13:33:10","slug":"irs-complaint-filed-against-animal-rights-group-in-retaliation-for-exposing-faucis-cruel-animal-experiments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=767221","title":{"rendered":"REVENGE OF THE TURDS: IRS complaint filed against animal rights group for exposing Fauci’s horrific animal experiments"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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Justin Goodman: 'We\u2019re confident that we\u2019re compliant with all laws applicable to our organization. It\u2019s troubling that anyone would resort to politically-motivated attacks on an organization like ours that\u2019s working to stop the government from abusing puppies and kittens with our tax dollars'.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

ROGER SOLLENBERGER:<\/strong> A new IRS complaint from the watchdog group Campaign for Accountability argues that some of the White Coat Waste Project (WCWP) organization\u2019s political activity has crossed into \u201cblatant disregard\u201d for the law.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe careful coordination between White Coat Waste Project and its associated PAC, and the donations stemming from that coordination, show a blatant disregard for the rules prohibiting 501(c)(3) organizations from engaging in political campaign activities,\u201d Campaign for Accountability executive director Michelle Kuppersmith said in a statement to The Daily Beast. \u201cLetting these types of violations go on unpunished would set an unfortunate precedent that would only make future violations more likely”…<\/em><\/p>\n

Justin Goodman, spokesperson for the White Coat Waste Project, told The Daily Beast his organization complied with all \u201capplicable\u201d laws and dismissed the allegations as \u201cpolitically-motivated.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re confident that we\u2019re compliant with all laws applicable to our organization. It\u2019s troubling that anyone would resort to politically-motivated attacks on an organization like ours that\u2019s working to stop the government from abusing puppies and kittens with our tax dollars,\u201d Goodman said.<\/em><\/p>\n

The complaint… alleges a number of violations over multiple years. The document makes the case that the founders of the WCWP nonprofit and its PAC have habitually raised money from prohibited sources, made impermissible campaign donations, and filed false records with federal agencies…<\/em><\/p>\n

The complaint\u2019s central issue hinges on the claim that the nonprofit functions as a connected PAC, when the law prohibits the group from engaging with political campaigns. This overlap, the complaint says, feeds a number of violations…<\/em><\/p>\n

The WCWP charity was originally organized by \u201cseasoned Republican operative\u201d Anthony Bellotti in 2013, under section 501(c)3 of the federal tax code. According to the IRS, such groups are \u201cabsolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.\u201d But the complaint says that\u2019s exactly what the White Coat Waste Project did.<\/em><\/p>\n

Four years after founding the nonprofit, Bellotti and his new partner Justin Goodman registered a WCW PAC with the Federal Election Commission\u2014leaving \u201cProject\u201d off the name. The two men told the FEC in their statement of organization that the group was a \u201cnonconnected PAC,\u201d walled off from the nonprofit. But the complaint alleges they had instead \u201cestablished, financed, maintained, and controlled\u201d the PAC as essentially a bank account to support the nonprofit\u2019s lobbying efforts, calling into question the truth of their federal statements.<\/em><\/p>\n

And there\u2019s the legal rub: The PAC did what PACs do, which was make campaign donations to elected officials. In this instance, the complaint says, they were the same officials the nonprofit was lobbying. The complaint argues that Bellotti and Goodman have made \u201cbarely any effort to maintain the pretense\u201d that the PAC maintains the necessary legal distance from the nonprofit. For instance, both groups use the same logo and the same slogan.<\/em><\/p>\n

But more seriously, the complaint cites web data showing the PAC\u2019s website is registered and maintained by the nonprofit. FEC records show that the PAC reports paying Bellotti for \u201cwebsite services.\u201d The complaint says this indicates that Bellotti \u201ccreated and maintains\u201d the PAC website in his role as president of the nonprofit.<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a problem, the document says, because the PAC uses that site to raise money from the public. And given the relationship between the PAC and the nonprofit, that money\u2014as much as 76 percent of the total, according to the complaint\u2014would appear to come from impermissible public sources.<\/em><\/p>\n

Worse, according to the watchdog, that money provides political support for the nonprofit\u2019s activities. In 2019, the complaint says, the WCWP nonprofit reported lobbying on an anti-animal testing bill as one of its stated top priorities. During that same election cycle, the WCWP PAC gave money to the campaigns of exactly seven House candidates\u2014the same seven who introduced the bill. SOURCE…<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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