As Americans Argue Over Russia, US Gov’t Quietly Allows ‘Dark Money’ Groups to Keep Donors Secret

While politicians and mainstream media outlets obsess over President Trump’s recent press conference with Russian President Putin, the United States Treasury quietly announced that it will no longer force “dark-money” groups or certain tax-exempt organizations to disclose their financial donors.

While traditional charity groups must still disclose donors in order to receive tax-exempt donations, the change allows labor unions, nonprofits and issue advocacy groups to be free from being forced to adhere to confidential disclosure requirements.

In a statement praising the new rule, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, “Americans shouldn’t be required to send the IRS information that it doesn’t need to effectively enforce our tax laws, and the IRS simply does not need tax returns with donor names and addresses to do its job in this area.”

Mnuchin attempted to paint the shift as a good thing by claiming that “it is important to emphasize that this change will in no way limit transparency.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted that the new rules will keep Americans from being “bullied for exercising their First Amendment rights,” alleging that individuals could be fired from their jobs or bullied if their political donations are made public.

However, Senator Jon Tester argued that “We need more transparency in our campaigns, not less,” and said he views the rules change as “unacceptable” and the description of “Washington at its worst.”

D.C. bureaucrats just changed the rules to allow some politically active non-profits to hide large contributions. This is unacceptable & Washington at its worst. I’ll keep fighting for transparency & to bring elections out of the darkness. #mtpol #mtsenhttps://t.co/NtQbcVk9aD

— Jon Tester (@jontester) July 17, 2018

While some politicians have gone as far as to praise this move as a “win” for privacy, they are also applauding a change that will allow them to be less transparent with their constituents. As a report from Reuters noted, the change “protects the privacy of wealthy donors of ‘dark money’ donations to politically active groups.”

These “dark money” groups include organizations such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), Planned Parenthood, the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity, and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.