The leadership PACs of six top Senate Republicans gave a total of $105,000 in May to a dark money group named the American Future Fund. That same month, according to The Center for Public Integrity, American Future Fund began spending hundreds of thousands of dollars defending Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) against attacks ads financed by the gun control group Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
As a 501c4 social welfare group, American Future Fund does not disclose its donors. The the GOP leadership PACs’ records tell the story. From the Center for Public Integrity:
On May 8, the leadership PAC of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., contributed $15,000 to the American Future Fund, records show. A day later, the PAC of Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., gave the same amount.
In the following weeks, the leadership PACs of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, each contributed $30,000 to the American Future Fund, a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” nonprofit that’s not required by law to publicly reveal its donors.
Meanwhile, the leadership PACs of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, donated $10,000 to the American Future Fund, while the PAC of Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., gave $5,000.
