Another deep-reaching part of the Koch-controlled money network distributed tens of millions of dollars in 2013, reported The Huffington Post. Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, which has been noted as the “central hub” of the Koch’s political funding, raised $57.5 million and gave $41.7 million last year.
Let that sink in: the Kochs have their own bank designed specifically for their political funding.
The HuffPo reported that the bank, Freedom Partners, filed under the 501(c)(6) trade association IRS tax code, and in 2012, had distributed over $250 million to political groups during the elections, totaling its donations to about $400 million that year. However, with a devastating loss to Barack Obama, which the Republicans somehow still haven’t gotten over, the Kochs readjusted their funding, pulling it from some political groups.
However, with the mid-term elections coming very soon, they will keep spending to make sure their purchased politicians remain in office. The remaining groups in their network include; Americans for Prosperity, American Energy Alliance, and the Evangchr4 Trust, among many more, all receiving $40 million of the $41.7 million distributed last year.
Americans for Prosperity is their heavy-hitter group because it is rich, and its lobbying influence reaches deep into the Beltway. Last year, the Kochs gave over $1.4 million to the group and then spent $30 million on political ads attacking pro-Obamacare Democrats.
The Kochs also donate to the Libre Initiative, which is a GOP-driven attempt to appeal to Latino/Hispanic voters. This year, the Libre Initiative has received $3.3 million from Freedom Partners.
This is just the tip of the giant Koch iceberg. They have endless amounts of money at their disposal to spend on political groups in order to manipulate and mold official opinion in Washington D.C. The worst part about it, though, is that they have remained in the shadows, allowing their groups to make all the money move. This keeps the Kochs themselves separated from anything on the political front lines.
Josh is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow him on Twitter @dnJdeli.
